Richard P. McBrien is Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Educated at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he has also served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. A leading authority on Catholicism, he is the bestselling author of Catholicism, Lives of the Popes, and Lives of the Saints, as well as the general editor of The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Most recently a consultant for ABC News, McBrien offers regular commentary on all the major television networks. He is also a prizewinning syndicated columnist in the Catholic press.
"An invaluable guide to models of holiness for every time and place. Everyone can find a soul friend here." -- Thomas H. Groome, Boston College"With characteristic authority, McBrien offers not just a rich calendar of saints but profiles in courage, love, and spiritual wisdom." -- Robert Ellsberg, author of All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time"Worth its weight in gold...a gift from the author." -- St. Anthony Messenger"Provides the quality otherwise found only in the 12-volume, 1995 Burns edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints." -- America
"An invaluable guide to models of holiness for every time and place. Everyone can find a soul friend here." -- Thomas H. Groome, Boston College"With characteristic authority, McBrien offers not just a rich calendar of saints but profiles in courage, love, and spiritual wisdom." -- Robert Ellsberg, author of All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time"Worth its weight in gold...a gift from the author." -- St. Anthony Messenger"Provides the quality otherwise found only in the 12-volume, 1995 Burns edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints." -- America
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. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
A worthy companion to McBrien's Lives of the Popes (LJ 10/15/97), this work goes beyond the Roman Catholic Church's list of saints to include those of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. Concise and well-researched biographical sketches are arranged by feast days, with access provided by indexes for saints, personal names, and subjects. Complementing the biographies are thoughtful essays on the history of saints, their place in religious history, and canonization; a series of seven tables on feast days, patron saints, iconography, and papal canonization; a glossary; and a brief, annotated bibliography. This useful compendium is recommended for academic and public libraries. Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll. Lib., NC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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