One is 84 and leader of the world's Catholics. The other is 85, Jewish and publisher of Lolita, the classic novel about an older man's infatuation with a nymphette. Yet the literary pairing of the Pope and George Weidenfeld is set to produce the biggest religious blockbuster since The Passion of the Christ.

The Pope has decided to tell the story of his remarkable life in an autobiography, and has handed the rights to Lord Weidenfeld's publishing house, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The pair are in fact longstanding friends. Weidenfeld - whose circle also includes Henry Kissinger, Harold Pinter and Conrad Black - is a regular guest at the Pontiff's summer residence, Castelgandolfo, and has attended several international conferences organised by the Pope.

The memoir will be hastened into print, in a variety of languages, in March, slightly ahead of its original schedule - a move likely to fuel speculation about the Pope's failing health. He suffers from Parkinson's disease and is rarely able to speak in public, but will nevertheless tell the world about his rise from humble beginnings.

Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla near Krakow, Poland, he was a model school pupil but endured the loss of his mother at the age of eight and the death of his elder brother from scarlet fever three years later.

The autobiography is said to focus revealingly on the assassination attempt he survived in 1981. Readers will also expect to learn of his perambulations in the Popemobile and, possibly, a candid discussion of the child abuse scandals and Aids controversies that have dogged the Church. His admirers may expect him to conclude it was all part of 'God's plan'.

Weidenfeld grew up in Vienna, was influential in the founding of Israel and has been prominent on the London cultural scene for more than 50 years. Weidenfeld & Nicolson's publication of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was highly controversial - and it is not expected to be found at the papal residence.