Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Saints
    Saints
    Saints
    Ebook291 pages1 hour

    Saints

    By HarperCollins UK

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This Gem provides a guide to the lives of the most popular saints – who they were, how they became saints and for whom they have a particular importance.

    This guide to saints contains brief biographies, saint’s days and lists of patron saints as well as a general introduction to how someone becomes a saint and who were the first saints.

    This interesting guide shows how saints still play a part in modern life – whether it’s having that St Christopher magnet stuck on the dashboard, or praying to St Anthony if you cannot find your car keys.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateSep 19, 2013
    ISBN9780007447565
    Saints

    Related to Saints

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Saints and Treasures

      Jul 9, 2021

      Saints and Treasures
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Incorruptibles

      Aug 10, 2023

      The Incorruptibles
      10 min read

    • Article

      Editorial

      Oct 1, 2022

      The stories of medieval women remain to be fully revealed and thoroughly explored, in scholarship and popular culture. Select textual and visual sources offer insight into their various roles within medieval society, but much more awaits discovery an

      7 min read

    • Article

      An Isolated Existence

      Nov 25, 2021

      Joining a religious order was far from a male-only pursuit. Legend has it that Saint Benedict of Nursia had a twin sister called Scholastica, who founded the first convent of Benedictine nuns near Monte Cassino in the sixth century AD. Whether that t

      1 min read

    • Article

      In Search Of... LOST SAINTS

      Oct 15, 2020

      In Search Of... LOST SAINTS
      4 min read

    • Article

      Pious Pioneers

      Jul 6, 2023

      Pious Pioneers
      4 min read

    • Article

      Pilgrims’ Progress

      Nov 29, 2019

      Pilgrims’ Progress
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Roman Roots Of The English Church

      Apr 1, 2022

      Going to Church in Medieval England Nicholas Orme (Yale University Press, £20) The Dissolution of the Monasteries: A New History James G. Clark (Yale University Press, £25) THE FALLOUT OVER THE CHURCH of England’s response to Covid-19 is still with u

      7 min read

    • Article

      Waiting For A Miracle

      Jan 23, 2022

      Waiting For A Miracle
      12 min read

    • Article

      Of British History, Britten And Puffins

      Jul 21, 2021

      AS a child, I was given a charming book called They Lived Like This in Chaucer’s England. Its drawings of minstrels, pilgrims, dogs and merry-making ignited a spark of fascination for the daily lives of people in the Middle Ages. Therefore, I devoure

      7 min read

    • Article

      Reviews

      May 31, 2022

      Reviews
      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘And Did Those Feet...’

      Apr 8, 2020

      ‘And Did Those Feet...’
      8 min read

    • Article

      Church Curiosities

      May 20, 2021

      Church Curiosities
      1 min read

    • Article

      Book of Uncommon Prayer

      May 3, 2023

      Book of Uncommon Prayer
      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Dec 28, 2021

      In Tracy Borman’s feature on Princess Charlotte of Wales, she refers to the whole of the kingdom going into deep mourning for several weeks after the death of the princess. Indeed, the impact was felt as far away as the small parish of Llanfihangel A

      3 min read

    • Article

      Source Secrets

      Sep 29, 2022

      Source Secrets
      3 min read

    • Article

      Notes From The Holy Island

      Aug 24, 2022

      Notes From The Holy Island
      4 min read

    • Article

      Settling The Religious Divide

      Feb 17, 2022

      Settling The Religious Divide
      5 min read

    • Article

      Who Were The CELTS?

      May 5, 2023

      The narrative of past centuries has led us to believe that we know who the fierce fighters, mystical druids and roundhouse-dwelling people we associate with northern and western parts of Britain and call the Celts were; but do we really? It’s a term

      4 min read

    • Article

      Hidden Charms 3

      Jan 27, 2022

      Hidden Charms 3
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Magic Touch

      Oct 28, 2020

      The Magic Touch
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Peril Of Moving Statues

      Oct 8, 2020

      Over spring and summer 2020, the public display of statues of selected historic figures suddenly excited people on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, intemperate mobs of protestors struck at a diverse range of statues deemed offensive.

      13 min read

    • Article

      Fortean Traveller

      Nov 3, 2022

      Deceased kings and queens ought to rest in peace, but some English monarchs have had remarkable post mortem adventures. In the second of a three-part series, LISA GLEDHILL visits their tombs and digs up some surprising stories. If you want to pay you

      7 min read

    Reviews for Saints

    4/5

    17 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      4.5 "Vigilante Justice Queen Meets Her Mafia Prince" Stars & 5 Stars for the narration!Lovers of tough as nails heroines and mafia romances are in for a treat when listening to the Saint! Not only can you count on a fast-paced, action filled story with plenty of heat filled scenes, but the heroine, in particular, is one of my favorite kinds of heroines: feisty and truly able to defend herself. The fact that a hero comes along who wants to help her save the day, just makes the story that much sweeter. Moreover, the top-notch narration by Tracy Marks makes this a romance that is a great title to experience in audio format. Scarlett's life drastically changed when the man she was supposed to marry, her then college boyfriend, took advantage of her and allowed her to be brutally violated as part of a fraternity hazing admission ritual. Unable to continue living her previously privileged and "perfect" life, Scarlett breaks all ties with her family and friends and leaves it all behind. In her new life, vowing to help other victims, Scarlett poses as a call girl and teaches men who beat and violate women her own brand of justice. Rory (aka "Saint") is a member of the Irish mob. Having had a rough life, he is happy to finally have a band of brothers that he would defend to the death. After Scarlett catches his eye, he hopes to expand his circle to include her in his band of protection. But Scarlett is a tough girl to attract, and she keeps resisting his advances. When it becomes clear, however, that the past has caught up with Scarlett and her life is in danger, Rory vows not to take "no" for an answer both as to her protection and his quest to seek her love. But can Rory keep Scarlett (his "Satan") safe and in his arms when she is determined to remain independent at all costs? Heaven and hell have never had so much fun mixing together!Tracy Marks does a remarkable job narrating Saint. Having never listened to her before, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, Ms. Marks way exceeded my expectations! Moreover, this was not an easy audiobook to narrate. With numerous accents to play, including both Boston and Irish accents as well as Scarlett's tricky dialogues which required increasing and dialing back the intensity of her accent, Ms. Marks proved her great range and attention to detail. Ms. Marks also convincingly was able to create both female and male sounding characters and differentiated even characters of the same sex. As Saint is an ACX produced title, I think it is also worth noting that the production quality of the audiobook was superb and on par with those produced by the large audiobook publishers. All in all, I really enjoyed the character development in Saint as well as the action and romance. In particular I found the heroine memorable and the hero swoon worthy with his alpha nature and yet ability to bend to accommodate his heroine's needs. Now I can't wait to catch-up on listening to more of this series!Source: Review copy provided for review purposes.

    Book preview

    Saints - HarperCollins UK

    Introduction

    Saints are the heroes and heroines of the Church – those deemed to have lived such good lives, or endured death so perfectly, as to be guaranteed an afterlife in Paradise. The cult of the saints arises because of their aura, the sense that they hold a golden key to the puzzle of existence. Having the ear of God, they also act as advocates, pleading for divine help on our behalf. In medieval times the saints were a popular passion. Akin to today’s celebrities, they were continually emulated and discussed by their ‘fans’, while pilgrimages to their shrines were the forerunners of modern mass-tourism. Images and relics of saints were highly prized, while books of their lives were the first truly popular best-sellers.

    This book aims to provide a worthwhile selection from the thousands of saints in the calendar. People in all walks of life are represented, from a Holy Roman Emperor (Henry II) to the peasant girl Maria Goretti; from Nicholas Owen, a carpenter who made priest holes, to the politician and power-broker Sir Thomas More; from Ugandan saint Joseph Mkasa to Maximilian Kolbe, a martyr of Auschwitz. There are clues in these lives to the causes for which each saint may be invoked, some obvious, others more obscure. Enquire within if you want to know why Clare is the patron of television and Jude a specialist in desperate causes.

    How is a person raised to sainthood? In the early Church, canonisation did not exist. A saint simply emerged by popular acclaim, particularly if there were miracles around the tomb or relics. But eventually the Catholic Church began to handle matters more judiciously, with what was effectively a legal trial in which a postulator and a ‘devil’s advocate’ were appointed to argue the case for and against a particular candidate. A three-stage process is followed today. First the candidate must be formally accepted as a ‘Servus Dei’ (Servant of God). This, after exhaustive investigation, is followed by beatification, in which the candidate is given the title ‘Blessed’. The final stage, which may not be reached for decades, even centuries, brings full canonisation in Rome.

    The official source for the lives of all saints in the Catholic Church is the Acta Sanctorum, while the most colourful (and unreliable) is Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend, possibly the most widely read book in medieval Europe. This work is sometimes mentioned under ‘Sources’. Some near-contemporary biographies have also been mentioned.

    A

    THE SAINTS

    Aelred (Ethelred)

    Abbot

    1110–67

    Aelred’s father and grandfather were both priests of Hexham, Northumbria, at a time before clergy were invariably celibate. As a teenager he served King David I in Scotland and, by the age of 24, he was Edinburgh Castle’s head steward. But, hearing that a group of eleven men had founded Britain’s first Cistercian monastery in Yorkshire, Aelred returned to England to join them. Elected abbot in 1147, he made Rievaulx one of the most powerful monasteries in Britain, and the original eleven swelled to a community of 650. Aelred upheld its standards by exercising uncommon gentleness and good sense. He travelled and wrote widely, especially on the spiritual value of common friendship. He died at Rievaulx, in an outhouse next to the infirmary. The monastic ruins are among the most romantically situated in Britain.

    Feast: 3 February

    Shrine: Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley, North Yorkshire

    Writings: sermons, prayers, letters and the books On Spiritual Friendship and The Mirror of Charity

    Agatha

    Virgin and Martyr

    d. 3rd century. Canonised by early tradition

    Few martyrs have been subjected to more graphically sexual tortures than Agatha. Born to wealthy Christian parents below Sicily’s Mount Etna, she was a beautiful girl dedicated to virginity. After rejecting the amorous attentions of an official, Quintinian, she was confined in a brothel where her purity was miraculously preserved. In fury, Quintinian prosecuted her as a Christian and she was condemned to have her breasts torn away by pincers. These wounds were healed in a vision of St Peter, whereupon Agatha was dragged across burning coals until she died. These salacious details made her a favourite subject in art, often with her amputated breasts displayed on a plate. The similarity between these and loaves is said to have resulted in the blessing of bread on her feast day.

    Feast: 5 February

    Patron of bell foundries, nurses, Sicily, Malta

    Causes: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fire, the protection of Sicily

    Symbols in art: excised breasts on chafing dish, pincers, burning torch

    Source: The Golden Legend

    Agnes

    Virgin and Martyr

    d. c.304

    Agnes was born in Rome during Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians. As with Agatha, she was a Christian girl who, at 12 or 13, refused to yield her virginity to an important pagan suitor. She was paraded nude through the streets to a brothel and, later, put to death by being stabbed in the throat, appearing afterwards to her parents with a lamb, symbol of youth and purity. At the monastery of St Agnes in Rome lambs are blessed each year, their wool dedicated to the weaving of papal vestments. Agnes’s cult grew after her death and she is one of the earliest saints of her class to be venerated. Her own foster sister St Emerentiana was stoned to death while praying at Agnes’s tomb.

    Feast: 21 January

    Patron of young girls, gardeners

    Cause: charitable work

    Shrines: a church raised above her tomb in the Via Nomentana, Rome, c.350; modern Rome has St Agnes- Without-the-Walls

    Symbols in art: lamb, sword, palm

    Source: The Golden Legend

    A 15th-century representation of St Agnes with the Lamb of Christ, the symbol in art with which she is associated (Dagli Orti)

    Aidan

    Abbot and Missionary

    d. 651

    An Irishman, Aidan was a monk of lona sent to evangelise Northumbria. He founded the celebrated abbey at Lindisfarne, from where, with the support of the local Christian king, Oswald, he travelled much, preaching and performing miracles and spreading the Christian message in the Celtic, as distinct from the Roman, style. Bede, by whose time the lonan Celtic forms were regarded as obsolete, nevertheless had high praise for Aidan’s goodness, gentleness and moderation.

    Feast: 31 August

    Shrine: Lindisfarne

    Symbols in art: stag, torch

    Source: Bede’s History of England

    Alban

    Martyr

    d. c.209

    Regarded as the earliest English martyr, Alban’s dates are uncertain. He was a pagan Roman officer at Verulamium who, during an outbreak of anti-Christian persecution, sheltered a priest on the run and was converted by him. With the search party at the door, he changed clothes with the priest and was himself caught and beheaded. On the way to his death he is said to have parted the waters of the River Colne to enable a large crowd of onlookers to reach the execution place, Holmhurst Hill, which became the site of his shrine. It is now the cathedral of St Alban’s.

    Feast: 22 June (17 June C of E)

    Shrines: St Alban’s Cathedral, Hertfordshire; Angers, France

    Source: Bede’s History of England

    Ambrose

    Father of the Church

    340-c.397

    Ambrose was among the most influential Christians of his era, and is venerated as one of the four Fathers of the Church. A son of the praetorian prefect of Gaul, he grew up at Treves, where a swarm of bees is said to have settled on his head without harm, but gifting him with honeyed eloquence. Educated in Rome in the years immediately following Emperor Constantine’s momentous conversion to Christianity, he trained as a lawyer, entered government service, and became a highly successful governor of Liguria and Aemilia, based at its powerful capital, Milan. He

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1