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A Catechism of the Strange: Stigmata, Relics, and the Miracles That Shape the Soul
Enter the Strange―and Discover the Truth That Transforms W. Tyler Allen, host of St. Anthony’s Tongue podcast, beckons us into the mysterious heart of the Catholic faith with his long‑awaited book debut, A Catechism of the Strange.Allen, who has a gift for finding beauty in the weird, shows how the stigmata, visions, relics, and miracles experienced by the saints point to an extraordinary We are meant to be transformed in body, soul, and free will into the likeness of Christ.Whether you are hungry for the grace that emanates from a mystery deftly delivered, or you are driven by curiosity to learn more about these phenomena, this book will speak to you. Seeing that the supernatural is connected to the hidden work of grace in daily life is liberating, empowering, and fascinating.
272 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 29, 2026
I have followed W. Tyler Allen’s Substack, St. Anthony’s Tongue, for a while now. In spite of our different approaches to faith—as he is Catholic and I am Protestant—I have found his explorations and discussions of his walk with Christ and experience with the Church among the most beautiful and moving short-form works of theology and philosophy being written today. They never fail to make me think and feel deeply, even when we differ on certain points. Because, while the trappings may vary wildly, the core of our faith is the same; we both worship the Triune God and praise Jesus Christ for the salvation He purchased for us.
When I saw Allen was publishing a book on some of the stranger and more mysterious aspects of the Catholic faith, I was immediately intrigued. And A Catechism of the Strange was everything I hoped it would be. The book is beautifully written, deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking, convicting and encouraging. I was fascinated by the lives and occurrences described. As a Protestant, I found this walk through aspects of the Catholic faith that I've never understood incredibly illuminating. While there are still theological differences that separate my beliefs from those of the Catholic Church, I found that Allen conveyed those issues in a way I could appreciate, even if I cannot quite accept them.
A Catechism of the Strange is one of the best and most unique nonfiction books I’ve read in 2026. And it’s one that I’ll be thinking about and mulling over for a long time to come.
Below are my favorite quotes from his epilogue that I feel sum up the book beautifully:
“To be conformed to Christ is to become something the world cannot explain.”
“The church does not exist to make you normal. It exists to make you holy. And holiness will always be a little uncanny, a little unsettling, a little wild. To become like Christ is to become luminous with a beauty the world does not understand. To walk in the Spirit is to become fire and fragrance and paradox.”
“Carry your own strangeness into the world. Let your wounds become prayers. Let you mercy unsettle the merciless. Let your joy baffle critics. Let your hope confound despair. Become, in your own way, a relic-in-the-making, a mirror of Christ, a burning presence in the dark.”
When I saw Allen was publishing a book on some of the stranger and more mysterious aspects of the Catholic faith, I was immediately intrigued. And A Catechism of the Strange was everything I hoped it would be. The book is beautifully written, deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking, convicting and encouraging. I was fascinated by the lives and occurrences described. As a Protestant, I found this walk through aspects of the Catholic faith that I've never understood incredibly illuminating. While there are still theological differences that separate my beliefs from those of the Catholic Church, I found that Allen conveyed those issues in a way I could appreciate, even if I cannot quite accept them.
A Catechism of the Strange is one of the best and most unique nonfiction books I’ve read in 2026. And it’s one that I’ll be thinking about and mulling over for a long time to come.
Below are my favorite quotes from his epilogue that I feel sum up the book beautifully:
“To be conformed to Christ is to become something the world cannot explain.”
“The church does not exist to make you normal. It exists to make you holy. And holiness will always be a little uncanny, a little unsettling, a little wild. To become like Christ is to become luminous with a beauty the world does not understand. To walk in the Spirit is to become fire and fragrance and paradox.”
“Carry your own strangeness into the world. Let your wounds become prayers. Let you mercy unsettle the merciless. Let your joy baffle critics. Let your hope confound despair. Become, in your own way, a relic-in-the-making, a mirror of Christ, a burning presence in the dark.”
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I’m a long time listener and fan of W’s podcast and work and I thoroughly enjoyed his debut book! The premise of the strange and mysterious is such a great draw and the way he wraps it all up in the end is incredibly poetic and moving. A must read for all Catholics, or anybody, who wishes to appreciate these aspects of the faith.
September 16, 2026
Received advanced copy for review from publisher
Somehow the title completely undersells the exquisite balance of catechesis and spiritual depth to this book.
As a cradle Catholic it's a rare treat to dive into something that challenges my soul to open more to the Holy Spirit. Not only have I learned much about new saints, I have a better appreciation for *why* certain things in our faith exist.
Especially relics. The relic chapter was the best.
Somehow the title completely undersells the exquisite balance of catechesis and spiritual depth to this book.
As a cradle Catholic it's a rare treat to dive into something that challenges my soul to open more to the Holy Spirit. Not only have I learned much about new saints, I have a better appreciation for *why* certain things in our faith exist.
Especially relics. The relic chapter was the best.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book was a frustrating read for me. It had some fascinating ideas, and I learned quite a few things, but I found the writing style distracting.
My biggest issue was that the prose frequently gave me the impression that it had been AI-generated. I use AI myself all the time, but there is something uncomfortable about reading a book that feels as though it may have been generated by AI while being presented as the author’s own writing. Some parts were quite formulaic, and noticeably so: for example, in the “People You Will Meet” section of each chapter, the saints are introduced in essentially the same structure (“A priest/nun/bishop who…, [Name]…”). There are also a lot of triplets and em dashes, and many sentences that sound beautiful and profound at first glance but become vague when you stop to consider what they actually mean.
For example: “And when he sends you, even if your feet stay still, may your love be found in two places—because Christ, alive in you, cannot stay put. He never does.” Which two places? Similarly, there were moments where the language seemed contradictory. The book describes a wound of divine love that “never fully closes”, but shortly afterwards calls it “the only wound that heals”. I could understand the intended theological distinction, but I often wished the writing were clearer.
That said, I did learn a lot from this book. I encountered concepts I had never heard of before, including hierognosis, the supernatural perception of the sacred, and transverberation, the mystical “wounding” of the heart associated with an experience of divine love. I also enjoyed discovering saints I knew little or nothing about: Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, a wanderer who was rejected from entering religious life and was considered eccentric and awkward; Blessed Dina Bélanger, a concert pianist before entering religious life who communicated with her guardian angel; and Saint Martin de Porres, a Dominican brother who bilocated to places such as Mexico and Japan.
Ultimately, I think there is a genuinely interesting book buried beneath the prose, I just struggled to appreciate it as much as I wanted to.
Thank you to NetGalley and Loyola Press for making this book available to me to review.
My biggest issue was that the prose frequently gave me the impression that it had been AI-generated. I use AI myself all the time, but there is something uncomfortable about reading a book that feels as though it may have been generated by AI while being presented as the author’s own writing. Some parts were quite formulaic, and noticeably so: for example, in the “People You Will Meet” section of each chapter, the saints are introduced in essentially the same structure (“A priest/nun/bishop who…, [Name]…”). There are also a lot of triplets and em dashes, and many sentences that sound beautiful and profound at first glance but become vague when you stop to consider what they actually mean.
For example: “And when he sends you, even if your feet stay still, may your love be found in two places—because Christ, alive in you, cannot stay put. He never does.” Which two places? Similarly, there were moments where the language seemed contradictory. The book describes a wound of divine love that “never fully closes”, but shortly afterwards calls it “the only wound that heals”. I could understand the intended theological distinction, but I often wished the writing were clearer.
That said, I did learn a lot from this book. I encountered concepts I had never heard of before, including hierognosis, the supernatural perception of the sacred, and transverberation, the mystical “wounding” of the heart associated with an experience of divine love. I also enjoyed discovering saints I knew little or nothing about: Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, a wanderer who was rejected from entering religious life and was considered eccentric and awkward; Blessed Dina Bélanger, a concert pianist before entering religious life who communicated with her guardian angel; and Saint Martin de Porres, a Dominican brother who bilocated to places such as Mexico and Japan.
Ultimately, I think there is a genuinely interesting book buried beneath the prose, I just struggled to appreciate it as much as I wanted to.
Thank you to NetGalley and Loyola Press for making this book available to me to review.
October 8, 2026
This is one of those book that could have been the most illuminating, strange, and wonderful of the year, if not for a structural problem that lessened my enjoyment.
For certain, this contains a lot of great information. If you know little about these topics, or the saints described within, you'll learn a lot and grow deeper in either appreciation or faith, depending on how you come to the text. You'll learn about saints in two places, blood that liquefies, people who hid their faces despite God's light shining through their lives. And it's never treated as a side show. It told reverently throughout.
Allen has become one of my go-to lay theologians; his content speaks to the heart, mind, and soul in a way that a lot of other, 'cleaner' Catholic content does not. And I think the reason I rate this book lower than I thought I would is because of something I've noticed in this text and with other 'content creator' books: people who excel at short-form/video content don't always excel at long-form/book content, because they treat the latter like the former.
There are a LOT of repetitive parts within the text. Phrases like "This isn't a metaphor" used at every opportunity, or even putting the same sentence with one word changed ("this is..." "that is...") a few pages apart. Allen highlights saints both important and obscure, which I like, but he often uses the same saint multiple times, giving the same biographical details over again. The structure itself, a few pages about what is happening, then the lives of the saints, does not lessen this effect.
With tighter editing, this repetitiveness may have been lessened or removed. It kept distracting me from the mystery and wonder displayed on each page. Though, that could easily be a nitpick on my part. I will continue to support Allen's work and I hope that, despite my annoyed review, that you give him (whether through this book or his videos) a try.
For certain, this contains a lot of great information. If you know little about these topics, or the saints described within, you'll learn a lot and grow deeper in either appreciation or faith, depending on how you come to the text. You'll learn about saints in two places, blood that liquefies, people who hid their faces despite God's light shining through their lives. And it's never treated as a side show. It told reverently throughout.
Allen has become one of my go-to lay theologians; his content speaks to the heart, mind, and soul in a way that a lot of other, 'cleaner' Catholic content does not. And I think the reason I rate this book lower than I thought I would is because of something I've noticed in this text and with other 'content creator' books: people who excel at short-form/video content don't always excel at long-form/book content, because they treat the latter like the former.
There are a LOT of repetitive parts within the text. Phrases like "This isn't a metaphor" used at every opportunity, or even putting the same sentence with one word changed ("this is..." "that is...") a few pages apart. Allen highlights saints both important and obscure, which I like, but he often uses the same saint multiple times, giving the same biographical details over again. The structure itself, a few pages about what is happening, then the lives of the saints, does not lessen this effect.
With tighter editing, this repetitiveness may have been lessened or removed. It kept distracting me from the mystery and wonder displayed on each page. Though, that could easily be a nitpick on my part. I will continue to support Allen's work and I hope that, despite my annoyed review, that you give him (whether through this book or his videos) a try.
November 9, 2026
This is the most unapologetically Catholic book I’ve read in a long time.
This book is for anyone who’s burned out on apologetics. We the kind of people who can defend Pope Leo’s Tome, cite Agatho’s letter, demonstrate papal prerogatives through the councils of the first millennium, defend the Real Presence in the Eucharist through Scripture and the Church Fathers, and explain the Church’s authority through Scripture, councils, and the saints. We can defend Catholicism intellectually, but sometimes our spiritual lives feel dry. We who know about God but leave little to no space to know God.
This book is such a breath of fresh air. It briefly explains the origins of some of these doctrines before diving into what really matters: the love of Christ and the process of sanctification, or theosis, as our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters call it.
For those who complain about the prose, if you like to read dictionaries, you might find this book annoying. Its writing reminds me of great spiritual writers like Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross: poetic, deeply contemplative, and filled with a profound hunger for Christ.
Honestly, best book of the year.
Funny enough, it also reminded me of Jesus Is My Refuge by Matt Fradd. I think the two books complement each other, although I would say this one is far superior. Both are clearly influenced by the bridal theology of the soul, which Matt Fradd clearly loves so much but if you know, you know 😅😅
This book is for anyone who’s burned out on apologetics. We the kind of people who can defend Pope Leo’s Tome, cite Agatho’s letter, demonstrate papal prerogatives through the councils of the first millennium, defend the Real Presence in the Eucharist through Scripture and the Church Fathers, and explain the Church’s authority through Scripture, councils, and the saints. We can defend Catholicism intellectually, but sometimes our spiritual lives feel dry. We who know about God but leave little to no space to know God.
This book is such a breath of fresh air. It briefly explains the origins of some of these doctrines before diving into what really matters: the love of Christ and the process of sanctification, or theosis, as our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters call it.
For those who complain about the prose, if you like to read dictionaries, you might find this book annoying. Its writing reminds me of great spiritual writers like Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross: poetic, deeply contemplative, and filled with a profound hunger for Christ.
Honestly, best book of the year.
Funny enough, it also reminded me of Jesus Is My Refuge by Matt Fradd. I think the two books complement each other, although I would say this one is far superior. Both are clearly influenced by the bridal theology of the soul, which Matt Fradd clearly loves so much but if you know, you know 😅😅
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I elected to review this book in hopes that it might be accessible to all people, and possibly to young people. I was looking for a universal educational experience. This is deeply theological and most definitely meant for a Catholic audience. There is, of course, no problem with that. Many books are intended for certian groups of people. However, this could have been an opportunity for a clearly well educated author to inform others. That's not that case here, this is a catechism, historically accurate, and (in some parts) reflective look back at the author's experience. There's prayers, facts, and explanations of church teaching about these 'strange' features of the Catholic faith-stigmata, bilocation, incorruptibility. I can't imagine anyone outside the church, seeking inofrmation, would be inclined to push through this.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4/5 Stars
What stood out to me most was the author's passion for the subject. Their enthusiasm is evident on every page, and they do an excellent job of highlighting the wonder and mystery of faith through numerous examples and stories. I especially enjoyed learning about saints and accounts I had never heard of before, which kept the book engaging throughout. If you're interested in bringing a sense of the mystical back into discussions of faith, there's plenty here to appreciate. That said, this is not a neutral examination of miracles—the author's perspective is clear and deeply felt. Readers looking for a more balanced or skeptical approach may find it less suited to their tastes. Overall, an interesting read.
What stood out to me most was the author's passion for the subject. Their enthusiasm is evident on every page, and they do an excellent job of highlighting the wonder and mystery of faith through numerous examples and stories. I especially enjoyed learning about saints and accounts I had never heard of before, which kept the book engaging throughout. If you're interested in bringing a sense of the mystical back into discussions of faith, there's plenty here to appreciate. That said, this is not a neutral examination of miracles—the author's perspective is clear and deeply felt. Readers looking for a more balanced or skeptical approach may find it less suited to their tastes. Overall, an interesting read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book presented a fairly succinct overview of some of the stranger aspects of Catholic theology and practice and presents them not as mere oddities or proof of concept for Catholic beliefs, but a means by which to identify the presence of the divine in the material world. The various topics were all interesting, with well-known concepts like stigmata and relics, and some that I had almost no familiarity with, like bilocation. This would be a good primer for anyone looking to gain some familiarity with the more mystical aspects of Catholicism from the perspective of a believer.
Thank you to Loyola Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to Loyola Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
September 30, 2026
I have numerous lines highlighted in this book but I think the one that sums it up the best is from page 34: “Let my body, too, become a tabernacle. Let my life, too, become a relic. Let me, too, be made holy.”
I’ve been subscribed to Tyler Allen’s social media (St. Anthony’s Tongue) and zine (The Margins) for a while now and I’m just a massive fan of his writing style. Powerful in its intensity and brevity.
This will be a book that I continue to reference and recommend for anyone interested in the weird, mysterious, and miraculous aspects of the Catholic faith.
I’ve been subscribed to Tyler Allen’s social media (St. Anthony’s Tongue) and zine (The Margins) for a while now and I’m just a massive fan of his writing style. Powerful in its intensity and brevity.
This will be a book that I continue to reference and recommend for anyone interested in the weird, mysterious, and miraculous aspects of the Catholic faith.
October 4, 2026
As a new Catholic, I enjoyed this book very much. Allen takes a much more serious approach to these topics than the cover art would suggest, and his introduction is a short but deeply insightful work of apologetics within itself. As others have said, there are some chapters that resonate more deeply than others, but I found it easy to read, informative and well-crafted.
I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the more supernatural aspects of the Catholic faith tradition.
I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the more supernatural aspects of the Catholic faith tradition.
June 26, 2026
Super interesting! Would love to dig deeper into these topics! Great introduction into the world of relics, miracles…
I learned many new things and I am definitely going to research some of these for further knowledge!
*Thank you NetGalley for providing a free e-copy of this book! This review nevertheless contains my honest opinion.
I learned many new things and I am definitely going to research some of these for further knowledge!
*Thank you NetGalley for providing a free e-copy of this book! This review nevertheless contains my honest opinion.
November 13, 2026
I wish it was longer and had more specifics. As a general introduction to all things strange in Catholicism it works well. But a second edition with 100 more pages would be my dream
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews