What do you think?
Rate this book
Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa – An Essential Pocket Guide to Catholic Biography
This pocket edition of Richard McBrien's Lives of the Saints is the perfect concise, handy reference for scholars, students, and general readers.
672 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2001
28 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 26, 2021
This is a REFERENCE BOOK. Not a devotional. Summary biographies only. Good for research, not for devotional reading.
July 30, 2024
O'BRIEN'S FOLLOW-UP TO HIS "LIVES OF THE POPES" BOOK
Richard Peter McBrien (born 1936) is a priest, and a Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He has written many books, such as 'Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II' and 'Catholicism: New Study Edition.'
He wrote in the Preface to this 2001 book, "This book came about as the result of a suggestion from my publisher... to consider doing something on the saints similar in nature to my previous book 'Lives of the Popes'... the great bulk of this volume consists of biographical sketches of varying lengths... The biographies are of the saints who appear on the General Roman Calendar... In addition there are references to holy persons not yet recognized as saints, including even non-Christians... This is not a work of primary or original historical scholarship... This book is the work of a theologian, not of a historian, and more specifically of an ecclesiologist, whose task is to reflect on the lives of the saints... What do the saints tell us, individually and collectively, not only about the character of Christian discipleship, but about the meaning of human existence itself?"
He argues, "the most blatant example of a politicized process (for canonization) in modern times is that of Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer (1902-75), founder in 1928 of Opus Dei... In 1962 Monsignor Escriva petitioned the Vatican to declare his movement a personal prelature, which would have removed it from the jurisdiction of local bishops. The Spanish hierarchy strongly objected and permission was not granted during the founder's lifetime. However, soon after his election to the papacy in 1978, John Paul II, who was personally sympathetic with the movement's theological and pastoral agenda, set the procedure in motion and the petition was finally granted in 1982." (Pg. 52)
He observes, "The Episcopal Church in the USA commemorates Thomas a Kempis ... a priest who authored the classic Thomas A. Kempis: The Imitation of Christ (The Penguin Classics), which has been translated into more languages than any other book apart from the Bible. It stresses personal piety over learning and the inner life over active service in the world. He has been neither beatified nor canonized." (Pg. 293)
Not as pathbreaking as O'Brien's book on the popes, this is still a very significant modern work on the lives of these eminent religious figures.
Richard Peter McBrien (born 1936) is a priest, and a Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He has written many books, such as 'Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II' and 'Catholicism: New Study Edition.'
He wrote in the Preface to this 2001 book, "This book came about as the result of a suggestion from my publisher... to consider doing something on the saints similar in nature to my previous book 'Lives of the Popes'... the great bulk of this volume consists of biographical sketches of varying lengths... The biographies are of the saints who appear on the General Roman Calendar... In addition there are references to holy persons not yet recognized as saints, including even non-Christians... This is not a work of primary or original historical scholarship... This book is the work of a theologian, not of a historian, and more specifically of an ecclesiologist, whose task is to reflect on the lives of the saints... What do the saints tell us, individually and collectively, not only about the character of Christian discipleship, but about the meaning of human existence itself?"
He argues, "the most blatant example of a politicized process (for canonization) in modern times is that of Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer (1902-75), founder in 1928 of Opus Dei... In 1962 Monsignor Escriva petitioned the Vatican to declare his movement a personal prelature, which would have removed it from the jurisdiction of local bishops. The Spanish hierarchy strongly objected and permission was not granted during the founder's lifetime. However, soon after his election to the papacy in 1978, John Paul II, who was personally sympathetic with the movement's theological and pastoral agenda, set the procedure in motion and the petition was finally granted in 1982." (Pg. 52)
He observes, "The Episcopal Church in the USA commemorates Thomas a Kempis ... a priest who authored the classic Thomas A. Kempis: The Imitation of Christ (The Penguin Classics), which has been translated into more languages than any other book apart from the Bible. It stresses personal piety over learning and the inner life over active service in the world. He has been neither beatified nor canonized." (Pg. 293)
Not as pathbreaking as O'Brien's book on the popes, this is still a very significant modern work on the lives of these eminent religious figures.
December 31, 2020
Richard P. McBrien uses a daily format to introduce the lives of Roman Catholic Church saints over the course of one year. Each day McBrien focuses on one or more saints, giving a brief overview of the saint, the reason he or she is a saint, and his or her status as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. His introduction to the book introduces readers to the concept of a saint, the process of becoming a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, and a history of sainthood from the early church to the present time. At the conclusion of the book, McBrien list eighteen categories of saints! According to McBrien, "saints are ordinary people who happen to live the gospel in extraordinary ways." (549).
July 18, 2022
Skimmed over St. Faustina- not cool! Otherwise pretty wonderful
December 5, 2017
For the last several years, I have read a "saint of the day" book during my daily devotions. This is the one I read from Nov 1, 2016 to Oct 31, 2017. (The extra days in the reading time are for introductory and concluding essays.) McBrien's collection has had the longest biographies as well as often including several "bonus" saints with short bios on some days. He draws primarily from the Roman Catholic saints, but also references Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran (ELCA) calendars of saints on occasion. He seems to have made a special effort to lift up many types of saints, not just founders, missionaries, and preachers.
The introductory and concluding essays were less helpful than the actual biographies and also very repetitive. In particular the essays on "Saints and Spiritualities" and "Saints and the Church" lifted up pretty much the same subset of saints with similar comments, sorted in three different ways (plus a concluding "Top 20" list that was pretty predictable from what had gone before).
Note: Goodreads only lists two ebook editions, dated 2015. What I have is a hardcover book with the same cover design from 2001 which was being remaindered when I bought it. I don't know whether there were any updates in the newer editions, e.g., folks who have been canonized in the last 15 years.
The introductory and concluding essays were less helpful than the actual biographies and also very repetitive. In particular the essays on "Saints and Spiritualities" and "Saints and the Church" lifted up pretty much the same subset of saints with similar comments, sorted in three different ways (plus a concluding "Top 20" list that was pretty predictable from what had gone before).
Note: Goodreads only lists two ebook editions, dated 2015. What I have is a hardcover book with the same cover design from 2001 which was being remaindered when I bought it. I don't know whether there were any updates in the newer editions, e.g., folks who have been canonized in the last 15 years.
January 24, 2017
This is a scholarly compilation of Saints through the eyes of Catholic church's theology and practice. It is not a devotional. Instead, the author takes the readers through the theology and history of saint recognition, then follows by a concise compilation of saints. Noted for future read:
(1) Saints are the individualized manifestations of grace for particular times, places and individualities. There is no single path to be holy. It is Catholicism's sacramental conviction of the infinite, invisible God in the finite, visible human reality.
(2) The canonization creates a permanent validity of these lives so for posterity, the faithful can look upon the saints' lives as examples of how to live.
(3) Saints are the "crowd of witness", supporters of one's spiritual journey with eyes on Christ. It is not "believe in Saints", but through them as companions to fortify faith. The superstitions are major distortions on saints' role in Catholicism.
Individual saint's biography and their places in church history are compiled. (future read).
(1) Saints are the individualized manifestations of grace for particular times, places and individualities. There is no single path to be holy. It is Catholicism's sacramental conviction of the infinite, invisible God in the finite, visible human reality.
(2) The canonization creates a permanent validity of these lives so for posterity, the faithful can look upon the saints' lives as examples of how to live.
(3) Saints are the "crowd of witness", supporters of one's spiritual journey with eyes on Christ. It is not "believe in Saints", but through them as companions to fortify faith. The superstitions are major distortions on saints' role in Catholicism.
Individual saint's biography and their places in church history are compiled. (future read).
September 24, 2017
A unique collection of saints from several Christian traditions, as well as adding those not yet recognized as saints, including a few of those outside of Christianity.
Placing the saints in historical context with a timeline by century of the major events. Following this with an exploration of perspectives on sanctity, its expression, and the Roman Catholic process of canonization.
The body of the work is a calendar format based on feast, or death dates with impressive biographies, and historical notes for the major saints. The lesser-known given little attention beyond a sentence. Tables at the back of the book follow typical classifications of saints by patronage, and emblems for quick reference. Closing with a meaty set of notes, a glossary, index, and bibliography that offers several sources to learn about individual saints.
This hardcover is a nice reference source to take a deeper step into the world of saints; especially for its list for further reading so one may explore deeper still into these special lives.
Placing the saints in historical context with a timeline by century of the major events. Following this with an exploration of perspectives on sanctity, its expression, and the Roman Catholic process of canonization.
The body of the work is a calendar format based on feast, or death dates with impressive biographies, and historical notes for the major saints. The lesser-known given little attention beyond a sentence. Tables at the back of the book follow typical classifications of saints by patronage, and emblems for quick reference. Closing with a meaty set of notes, a glossary, index, and bibliography that offers several sources to learn about individual saints.
This hardcover is a nice reference source to take a deeper step into the world of saints; especially for its list for further reading so one may explore deeper still into these special lives.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews