Saints

I love being a Roman Catholic. Every day is a feast day! Yesterday was the feast day of Saint Maximilian Kolbe (patron of drug addicts), tomorrow is the feast day of Saint Armel (patron invoked against fever, headache, and gout), and today (a holy day of obligation) we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I could spend hours pouring over the fascinating stories and gorgeous illustrations in Tom Morgan's gift book, Saints: A Visual Almanac of the Virtuous, Pure, Praiseworthy, and Good. It is so much fun to look up the saints for different professions, hobbies, and ailments. For instance, Saint Jerome is the patron saint of librarians, Saint Cecilia watches over musicians, and there are two patron saints for syphilis sufferers. Misplace something? Pray to Saint Antony of Padua. Stressed out? Try Saint Dympna.

Morgan, Tom. Saints: A Visual Almanac of the Virtuous, Pure, Praiseworthy, and Good. San Francisco: Chronicle Book, 1994.

Here are some more good hagiographies:

Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us!
New York: Random House, 1993.



Butler, Alban, and Paul Burns. Butler's Lives of the Saints. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2003.



Mulvihill, Margaret and David Farmer. The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs.
New York: Viking, 1999.