The History of the Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints: Volume 2, The Church Endures

It’s quite the story, and it’s best told through the lives of the SAINTS.

In Volume One of the History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints, we started with Jesus and told the story of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church through times of persecution, the rise of Islam, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. It’s now time to pick up the story where we left off!

Join us as we meet the Saints God used to lead, reform, protect, and suffer for His Church. But be warned, this is a CATHOLIC history, and many of the things you will read will challenge the decidedly protestant history we all received in school. 

This large printed book will arrive with a timeline that displays the saints covered in the text, as well as the major world events they lived through. 

Also, please note that we are working on a History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints, VOLUME THREE! This final volume will explore how the Faith spread throughout the world. Therefore, Volume Two focuses largely on the Church in Europe, not on her missionary work throughout the world.

And so, let’s explore what really happened and the Saints God used during some of the darkest moments of human history.

The story begins in the 1400s, as the Church suffers through the Western Schism and the threat of Muslim Invasion. The invention of the printing press in 1440 helped ideas spread more quickly, whether they were good or bad. Then, in 1517, Luther penned his 95 Theses, and 17 years later, Henry VIII founded the Church of England. Confusion spread, millions die, and countless faithful Catholics refuse to abandon the Truth professed by the Catholic Church. Mary miraculously saved Christendom from Muslim invasion, and great saints set to work correcting the errors of the Protestant Revolt and strengthening the Church for the future.

Please note: throughout History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints, we refer to this period as the Protestant Revolt (rather than the Protestant Reformation), as this more accurately describes what happened.

In this section, readers will hear the stories of:

• Bl. Elizabeth of Reute 
• Bl. Antonio della Chiesa
• St. Francis of Paola
• The Martyrs of Otranto
• St. John of Cologne and the Martyrs of the Protestant Revolt
• St. John Fisher 
• Pope St. Pius V 
• St. Charles Borromeo 
• St. Edmund Campion 
• St. Margaret Clitherow 
• St. Teresa of Ávila 
• St. Peter Canisius 
• St. Philip Neri 
• St. Robert Bellarmine 
• Bl. Liborius Wagner 
• St. Francis de Sales 
• St. John Plessington

The Wars of Religion set the stage for an even bloodier time: the Enlightenment. Tired from years of fighting over religion, many of the elites simply rejected God and began to fight the Church’s influence on society. Throughout this time, God continued to invite His people into a deeper relationship and even revealed His Heart, burning with love, to a French nun. Sadly, God’s people did not listen, and revolution erupted in France. Countless Catholics died in the Reign of Terror, which God ended when He accepted the willing sacrifice of a community of Carmelite nuns. God then used his saints to heal the nation and the world that had wandered so far from Him.

In this section, readers will discover the stories of:

• St. Joseph of Cupertino 
• Bl. Nicolas Steno 
• St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
• St. Vincent de Paul 
• St. Louis de Montfort 
• St. Alphonsus Liguori 
• St. Joseph Pignatelli 
• St. Julie Billiart 
• Martyrs of Compiègne 
• St. John Vianney 
• St. Catherine Labouré

For over a thousand years, Europe had been a stronghold of Christianity, known throughout the world as Christendom. This had been declining since the Protestant Revolt, and would end in the great World Wars.

From 1850 to 1950, the Catholic Church was shaped by a series of defining upheavals. In 1870, the Church lost its papal temporal power with the unification of Italy. This pushed the papacy to emphasize its spiritual authority, culminating in the definition of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council. Marian Apparitions such as Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima revived the faithful. Meanwhile, the Church confronted intellectual challenges like modernism, endured the devastation of two world wars, during which leaders like Pope Pius XII navigated moral crises on a global scale. Many great saints lived during these dark years, and through their witness, the Faith endured.

In this section, readers will hear the stories of:

• Bl. Pius IX 
• St. Agnes Tsao Kou Ying 
• St. Mariam Baouardy 
• St. John Bosco 
• St. John Henry Newman 
• Our Lady of Knock 
• St. Charbel Makhlouf 
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux 
• St. Arnold Janssen 
• Pope St. Pius X 
• Bl. Charles of Austria 
• Venerable Lúcia dos Santos, St. Francisco Marto, St. Jacinta Marto
• Bl. Miguel Pro 
• St. José Sánchez del Río
• St. Pedro Poveda Castroverde 
• St. Anna Schäffer 
• St. Faustina Kowalska 
• St. Edith Stein 
• Bl. Sára Salkaházi 
• Bl. Odoardo Focherini 
• Bl. Hryhoriy Khomyshyn

The “second apostolic age” of the Catholic Church refers to a period of renewed missionary energy, global expansion, and deeper engagement with the modern world. Following the upheavals of two world wars, the Church entered a new phase which emphasized the universal call to holiness, the active role of the laity, and the Church’s mission to proclaim the Gospel in every culture. Popes called for a “new evangelization,” recognizing that many baptized Christians needed to rediscover the Faith. During this time, Catholicism has grown rapidly in Africa and Asia, while new movements, lay apostolates, and global communications have expanded the Church’s reach. In this sense, like the first apostolic age, the Church today is once again being sent out into a diverse and often challenging world—called to witness to Christ not from a position of cultural dominance, but through faithful, personal, and missionary discipleship.

In this section, readers will hear the stories of:

• St. Gianna Beretta Molla 
• St. Padre Pio 
• Pope St. John XXIII 
• Venerable Emil Kapaun 
• St. Josemaría Escrivá 
• Venerable Satoko Kitahara 
• St. Óscar Romero 
• Ven. Fulton J. Sheen 
• Servant of God Leonard Cheshire 
• Venerable Nguyễn Văn Thuận 
• Bl. Stanley Rother
• St. Mother Teresa 
• Pope St. John Paul II 
• Bl. Floribèrt Bwana Chui Bin Kositi 
• Servant of God Ragheed Ganni 
• St. Carlo Acutis 
• Servant of God Darwin Ramos 
• Servant of God Clare Crocket

The History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints is a long book that addresses complex and sometimes dark topics. Although families are welcome to read the book aloud, it is best suited for Catholic Children in Middle and High School. It can also be a powerful resource for any adult Catholic.

History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints Volume 2 is:

• Hardcover
• Full color interior, with 67 original portraits of the saints
• 380 pages
• Includes a 6” x 72” timeline