Saint Books

When she was about nine years old, Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped near Darfur, Sudan, by Arab slave traders. For several years she was subjected to brutal and humiliating treatment until she was ransomed and taken to Venice, Italy, where she became a Catholic and a nun.

Joyfully and serenely Bakhita served in a convent, school and infirmary run by Canossian sisters in a small, obscure town in northern Italy until her death in 1947. Then something even more remarkable than her redemption happened.

Hundreds of ordinary people came to see Bakhita lying in state, and along with these visits came stories about how the simple nun had given comfort, advice and encouragement as she went about her tasks as cook, doorkeeper, nurse, etc. Almost immediately graces and miracles attributed to Bakhita's intercession began to be reported.

Ever since, the place where Bakhita died and the wonders began has been a shrine visited by people from all over the world. They come to seek the intercession of one who was no stranger to loss and suffering and yet had given herself with complete confidence to the Lord. It is here, in this sparsely furnished room, where Italian journalist Roberto Italo Zanini begins his story of Bakhita and her journey from slavery to sainthood.

Based on Bakhita's autobiography, which she dictated to a Canossian sister in obedience to her superior, the canonization files and many other sources, Zanini records the life, virtues and miracles of this daughter of Africa who has become a sister to the whole world.Illustrated with 16 pages of photos.

Bernadette of Lourdes: Her life, death and visions is the first ever scholarly biography of Bernadette Soubirous, either in French or in English.

It draws upon many testimonies and archival sources that have never previously been published. Therese Taylor explains who Bernadette was, and how she lived and died but takes no position on whether or not her visions were genuine.

This story begins in Bernadette's native country of the Pyrenees, a mountain region haunted by tales of fairies, witches and miraculous groves and springs. It follows Bernadette's astonishing life story, from her family circle, through her years of fame, to her retirement at the convent of St Gildard at Nevers. Her difficult relationships with the historians of Lourdes and her lengthy terminal illness are also considered.

This biography places Bernadette in the context of her time. She was born into a volatile family and her parent's lives were blighted by economic failure and alcoholism. At the age of fourteen Bernadette was an illiterate child-servant, who suddenly experienced a series of visions of a White Lady in the Grotto of Massabielle. Townspeople, government officials, clergy and journalists were all drawn in, and sought out Bernadette in order to assess her story. A chain of events was set off which made her one of the most famous women in France.

Bernadette has to be understood not only in religious terms, but also with reference to themes such as tourism, commercialism, mass-representation and the exploitation of female celebrities.

By PaulaAnne SharkeyLemire. A handy guide for devotion to this popular North American Blessed! This booklet contains a short life of Kateri and a collection of approved prayers, chaplet instructions, and a novena to Blessed Kateri.

Many full-color images of Kateri and photos of places associated with her life. The back cover features the original painting of Kateri which she herself requested in a vision after her death. 32 pp. Softcover. (After this booklet was published, Kateri was canonized.)

Age Range: 8 and up

The first Christians to visit Europe and the British Isles met pagans who told tales of fairies, talking beasts, and other wonderful things. To these marvelous stories, they soon added new ones about the Christian saints.

Some were true, others improbable, and many simply fantastic. In the ones we include here, you'll meet the saint who spent seven Easters on a whale's back and the amiable lion who was St. Jerome's friend. You'll see St. George fight the dragon, and you'll read about the fierce wolf St. Francis of Assisi converted.

But many of these stories have in them scarcely a wave of the fairy wand. So you'll also find here true tales of great saints such as St. Louis of France, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary -- souls marked by courage, kindness, and piety.

These marvelous legends and exciting true stories of Christian saints and heroes will provide many hours of delightful reading to believers and non-believers alike!

Read the exciting stories of:

The pontificate of Pope John Paul II has produced an unprecedented wealth of beatifications and canonizations. The twentieth century in particular has been noted as the century of martrys, many of which are featured prominently in this supplement to the new full edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints, a continuation of the tradition of one of the most well-known and relied-upon reference works of all time.

The Supplement of New Saints and Blesseds covers canonizations and beatifications enacted from late 1999 to the end of 2003 in chronological order. Blesseds appearing in previous volumes who have since been canonized have had their information updated and expanded.

How to live a Christian life of faith is a question every generation has sought to answer. Invariably, they have turned to the lives of the saints. The candidates included in this volume are worthy and offer challenge and inspiration to us all.

This inspiring little book about the life and message of St. Carlo Acutis invites us to imitate his five steps to sainthood: frequent Communion, Eucharistic Adoration, regular Confession, devotion to Our Blessed Mother and the saints, and acts of charity. As he followed these steps, he shared them with others, especially children preparing for their sacraments. Readers of any age can follow these steps and lead extraordinary, faithful lives.

Saint Carlo Acutis, born May 3, 1991, fully embraced the gift of life. Known as a computer whiz, he also liked to play soccer, video games, and the saxophone. He enjoyed watching his favorite police dramas and making short films with his star cast of cats and dogs. He had many friends and enjoyed spending time with them.

Yet Carlo was a little "different" at school, in the pizzerias, and on the soccer field. What set Carlo apart was his constant pursuit of holiness. In addition to his hobbies, he spent time teaching catechism classes and serving in soup kitchens. Carlo loved to attend daily Mass and frequent Eucharistic adoration. The Word of God and the Eucharist were the center of his life. Carlo's unwavering devotion to the Eucharist inspired him to tell the story of Eucharistic miracles through a website he created just for fun. He wanted to deepen his own knowledge of these phenomena, to strengthen his devotion to Jesus, and to invite others to grow in love for the Eucharist. The website subsequently caught the attention of people across the globe, introducing countless people to Eucharistic miracles.

Carlo died from a sudden and violent illness in 2006 at the age of fifteen. In less than a decade, his story spread across Italy and around the world. He was canonized on September 7, 2025, making him the first millennial saint.

Carlo Acutis was a little “different” at school, in the pizzerias, and on the soccer field. What set Carlo apart was his constant pursuit of holiness. In addition to his fun hobbies, he spent time teaching catechism classes and serving in soup kitchens. Carlo loved to attend daily Mass and frequent Eucharistic adoration. The Word of God and the Eucharist were the center of his life. Carlo’s unwavering devotion to the Eucharist inspired him to tell the story of Eucharistic miracles through a website he created just for fun.

Carlo died from a sudden and violent illness in 2006 at the age of fifteen. In less than a decade, his story spread across Italy and around the world. After Pope Francis declared him venerable in 2018, his beatification was celebrated in Assisi on October 10, 2020. The next step will be canonization, making him the first millennial saint.

"My Father, I put myself in your hands", wrote Charles de Foucauld in his journal. "Whatever you make of me, I thank you, I am ready for everything, I accept everything, I thank you for everything."

When he was killed by bandits in 1916, the French aristocrat-turned-monk was virtually unknown. Over the course of a century, however, the radiance of Foucauld's hidden life has spread more and more, and the Church now recognizes him as a saint.

His youth and early adulthood read like a novel--the loss of his parents; his education in Paris, where he abandoned the faith of his childhood; his military career in French Algeria; and his exploration of Morocco. After a conversion at the age of twenty-eight, Foucauld was charged with a desire to surrender himself completely to God, leading him eventually to a life of prayer in the Algerian desert. There he devoted himself to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and charity toward his Muslim neighbors--even to the point of death.

Jean-Jacques Antier describes Foucauld's dramatic, inspiring life in a vivid narrative style. He based his biography on the man's writings and correspondence as well as interviews with numerous people who knew him.

Illustrated with sixteen pages of photos, and indexed.

Born at the turn of the 20th Century, Josemaría Escrivá spent his life as malleable clay in the Potter's hands. He took on a very visible leadership role as a priest and founder of Opus Dei, with a substantial collection of writings and recorded talks "revealing the personality, tone of voice, mannerisms, and spirit of the man." In this book, Fr. John Henry Hanson explores this role of leader and coach that our saint lived while on earth and continues to live today. Never one to mince words or refrain from action, Josemaría coaches us in work and rest, in times of struggle and ease, through confusion and certainty. Josemaría is for all of us – men and women of today, living and working in the midst of the world. He is for us all a coach, a father, and an excellent teacher of the elevated, virtuous, and courageous life.

Find strength and healing in the arms of the cross

Fr. Cessario masterfully weaves Saint Catherine’s sublime thoughts and words into an easy-to-read meditation on Christ’s Passion.

These insightful reflections invite us to embrace the challenges we encounter during our journey and, with Saint Catherine, to consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us (Rom 8:18).

A perfect meditation for Lent

A thoughtful gift to help comfort loved ones, family, and friends.

“What do we learn from this description of the suffering Christ? What does Catherine teach us about the transformation that brings the world stillness on Good Friday from noon until three o’clock?

“The answer is simple: We discover that because of his enormous love, Christ’s sufferings and death cause the transformation of all that exists, the transformation we call Christian salvation….

“The transformation that Catherine announces is one that creates in those persons who remain united with Christ a new ground for love, a new sort of loving…. The transformation affects both our persons and our actions.”

The first autobiography ever written, and one of the most profound testaments of faith, ever.

With a soul purified from earthly attachments, we can advance through the much quoted but oft misunderstood dark night of the souls into unity with God. By accepting the desolation and difficulty of this process, the soul cooperates with God and opens itself to receiving and revealing more perfectly God's glory.

Be not afraid--Dark Night of the Soul, though austere and exacting in its instructions for holy living, is laced with St. John's charity and kindness, his love of all things beautiful and sacred--including you.

The universally applicable yet intimately personal messages she received from God are as much for us as they were for Catherine. We can read God's communications to his beloved daughter with detached awe or we can receive His messages to us through her writings.

Do you long for certainty that Divine Providence exists in the midst of our chaotic world? Does your prayer seem too dry, or too routine? Have you sought guidance for the challenges of your life from unhelpful people or things? Or has pride kept you from humble obedience to the Church? If so, The Dialogue will provide consolation, encouragement, and hope.

This bestselling book that birthed the Divine Mercy movement, one of the fastest growing movements in world today. This amazing narrrative will stir your heart and soul while it chronicles the experience of a simple Polish nun.