Lives of the Saints

Starred review from July 23, 2001
Eminent historian of Catholicism McBrien (Catholicism) provides in his new book the same lively, detailed historical and theological sketches of the saints that he did for the papacy in his earlier The Lives of the Popes. In magisterial fashion, he discusses the definition of sainthood, the process of canonization and its politics and the significant contributions that various saints have made to Christian history. McBrien defines saints as "ordinary people who happen to live the gospel in extraordinary ways." Arranged according to the yearly calendar, the central section of the book offers fresh and engaging biographical sketches of the saints. In addition to officially recognized saints, McBrien embraces a wide range of individuals who fit his broad definition of sainthood, such as Dorothy Day, George Herbert, John Donne, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Mohandas Gandhi. The book includes a helpful time line of saints in history and exhaustive tables of the feast days of the saints, places and their patron saints, patron saints and the groups and causes that adopt them, emblems in art and iconography, saintly "firsts," and papal canonizations. For instance, we learn that Thomas Aquinas is one of the patron saints of booksellers, and Clare of Assisi is the patron saint of television. McBrien's magnificent and comprehensive compendium offers rich insights not only into the lives of the saints but also into the reasons that these fascinating holy people continue to play such an integral role in the history of Christianity.