Since the very beginning, the Holy Spirit has guided the Catholic Church. How has He done this? Though the saints!
There are many ways to tell the history of the Catholic Church (it is often told through the stories of heretics or emperors) but it is only when we tell our history through the lives of the saints that we can see how God has used ordinary people to build His Church.
The History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints Vol 1 strings together the biographies of over 80 holy men, women, and children to show how one person’s choice to follow Jesus ripples out through time and space, leading others to make the same choice. Told with vivid details, the biographies of the saints included in this book allow Catholic children to understand the history of their Church in a personal way. We have also included a vibrant, full-color, realistic portrait of each saint so children remember that the saints are real people who practiced the same faith that we do today.
This is the first volume of a two-volume set. Starting with Jesus Christ, The History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints Vol 1 shares the stories of saints from the Apostolic Age, Patristic Age, Carolingian Age, and the High Middle Ages. Volume 2 will pick up the story of our Church, starting with the Protestant Reformation.
We strove to weave together historical events and the biographies of saints who were alive at the time. Here are a few examples:
- After many Christians apostatized rather than die as martyrs during the Apostolic Age, St. Cyprian of Carthage taught the Church to respond with mercy. He demanded that they do penance, but would be welcomed back into the Church. His teachings paved the way for the Sacrament of Reconciliation as we know it today.
- A Christian mother and queen from the Dark Ages, St. Clotilda, converted her pagan husband, and a few hundred years later, one of their descendants was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor.
- St. Augustine of Canterbury was a missionary to England in the 600s. His work was so successful that, about 100 years later, England sent missionaries including St. Boniface and his niece to Germany.
- For centuries, monasteries were a center for learning. However, God gently called nuns and monks to more. He shared His Sacred Heart with St. Gertrude the Great and asked her to live a life of mystical prayer.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg!
Along with the lives of the saints and how they changed the world around them, you will also learn the histories of nations, the origin of the sacraments, the seeds of conflict that erupted centuries later, and the way God established and protects His Church here on earth.
The History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints Vol 1 proves to readers that the Catholic Church is indeed the very Church founded by Jesus Christ and that He is guiding the Church through history. Not every member of the Church has been a saint, but many have! God used these holy men and women to save the Church from error and preserve it through countless conflicts. This is what God has done in the past and it is what He continues to do today.
Book Specifics:
- Hardcover, 6”x9”
- 307 pages
- Full-color interior with 80 original images
- Vivid 10-page timeline with Catholic and World Events
- 76 separate biographies of saints
- In-depth Index that organizes saints in a variety of ways
