The Catholic Book Club discussion

A rosary in one hand. A dagger in the other. Sister Magdalena never heard of the Catherinite nuns until the day she faced her own death sentence. Rome, 1562. It’s the era of the Index of Banned Books and the Roman Inquisition. Kings still burn heretics. The worst threats come from within the Church itself. Only seventeen, Magdalena killed a priest who tried to rape her within the walls of her convent. His powerful family will see her executed, and then they’ll destroy her mother and young sister.
Instead, the pope makes an offer. To save her life and protect her family, Magdalena can disappear into a secret religious order, one with a demanding physical regimen to go along with the prayers.