Ireland's patron saint has long been shrouded in legend: he drove the snakes out of Ireland; he triumphed over Druids and their super-natural powers; he used a shamrock to explain the Christian mystery of the Trinity. But his true story is more fascinating than the myths. Late in the 4th century Irish pirates captured a young, British citizen named Patricius from his parents' Roman villa. The boy was sold into slavery and sent to tend sheep in Ireland....

"In this riveting biography of Elizabeth Seton critically acclaimed and bestselling author Joan Barthel tells the mesmerizing story of a woman whose life featured wealth and poverty, passion and sorrow, love and loss. Elizabeth was born into a prominent New York City family in 1774. Her father was the chief health officer for the Port of New York and she lived down the block from Alexander Hamilton. She danced at George Washington's sixty-fifth Birthday...

From Augustine to Mother Teresa, officially canonized as St. Teresa of Calcutta, discover seventy of the best-known and best-loved saints and read their riveting stories. Meet Joan of Arc, whose transcendent faith compelled her to lead an army when the king's courage failed. Francis of Assisi, whose gentleness tamed a man-eating wolf. Valentine, a bishop in the time of ancient Rome, who spoke so often of Christ's love that his saint's day, February...

Using historical documents and translated by Régine Pernoud, Joan of Arc seeks to answer the questions asked by Joan's contemporaries as well as us: Who was she? Whence came she? What had been her life and exploits? First published in the United States in 1966 by Stein and Day, this book reveals the historical Joan, described in contemporary documents by her allies as well as her enemies.

""What does this mean? Who are these people?"" "Questions like these are often asked by visitors to museums. Today, it is often easier to understand abstract art than it is to understand the meaning of an altarpiece that portrays a seminaked young man shot with arrows; a monk with an axe in his head; a beautiful girl with a wheel in her hand; or another who carries her eyes on a plate." "From Agatha to Zeno, this book presents the images and attributes...

In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his "Confessions" is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his...