215 Years Ago Today...

The 16 Carmelite martyrs of Compiègne were guillotined during the French Revolution.

You can read more about them in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Also recommended are:

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort (Neumann Press) - approriate for high school or adult

To Quell the Terror: The Mystery of the Vocation of the Sixteen Carmelites of Compiegne Guillotined July 17, 1794 by William Bush (not yet reviewed for age-appropriateness)

Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1923)

Jose Finds the King: A Blessed Miguel Pro Story by Ann Ball (1923)

Blessed Miguel Pro by Ann Ball

Miguel Pro (1891-1927) was a young priest in Mexico during the persecution of the Church in the 1920s. He used interesting disguises to slip past authorities in order to celebrate Mass in secret and otherwise minister to his people. He fearlessly continued such dangerous missions despite health problems and eventually was arrested and martyred for his faith.The reader will learn a lot about the politics, culture and religion of his time. Also included in the book are a number of black and white photos of Blessed Miguel Pro - including several of him in disguise and those taken at his execution and his funeral. The government allowed photographers to be present at the execution in order to make an example of the martyr, but later tried to prevent their release. The appendix includes prayers and poems written by Blessed Miguel Pro, a novena and chaplet composed in his honor, and ideas for a celebration for his Feast Day, November 23.

Reviewed by Alicia Van Hecke
Available from Aquinas and More and the St. John Fisher Forum

Saint John Bosco (Italy, 1815-1888)

Picture Books:

Saint John Bosco: The Friend of Children and Young People by Carol Monmarche (Pauline Books & Media)

Grade School:

St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio by Catherine Beebe (1815-1888)

Primary Sources:

Letter from Don Bosco

On the Web:

The Secret of Saint John Bosco by Henri Gheon

Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

The Cure of Ars: The Priest Who Out-talked the Devil by Milton Lomask

The Cure of Ars: The Story of St John Vianney by Mary Fabyan Windeatt

The Man Who Fought the Devil: The Cure of Ars by Eva K. Betz

The Cure D'Ars: St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney by Francis Trochu

St. Catherine Laboure (France, 1806-1876)

Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine in 1830 and gave her the Miraculous Medal

St. Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal by Alma Power-Waters

The Miraculous Medal: The Story of Our Lady's Apparitions to St. Catherine Laboure by Mary Fabyan Windeatt (1830)

Blessed Junipero Serra (1713-1783)

"Always Go Forward, and Never Turn Back: Blessed Junipero Serra", Reading Comprehension: Stories of the Saints, Volume 3 pgs. 81-103 (Catholic Heritage Curricula)

The Man Who Founded California: Blessed Junipero Serra by M.N. Couve de Murville

Art:

Saints of the California Missions: Mission Paintings of the Spanish and Mexican Eras by Norman Neuerberg (Bellerophon Books)

Out of Print Favorites:

The First Californian: The Story of Fray Junipero Serra by Donald Demarest (Credo Books)

The Five Franciscan Martyrs of Georgia

Death came to the five Franciscan Martyrs in September, 1597, after a baptized Guale named Juanillo, living in one of the missions, took a second wife. Juanillo was the nephew of the principal tribal chief and a leading contender to succeed him. Given his importance, if he persisted in his marital infidelity, the moral life of the whole mission would be in jeopardy. It fell to Fray Pedro at the mission at Tolomato to admonish Juanillo to live the Christian faith in which he was baptized, and to warn him that the friars would not support his political aspirations should he persist in bigamy. In this he was seconded by Fray Blas in the nearby mission at Tupiquí...

From the Georgia Martyrs website

hat-tip Karen Edmisten

Saint Edmund Campion (1540-1581)

Grade School:

Edmund Campion: Hero of God's Underground by Harold Gardiner, S.J.

Teen/Adult:

Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh
Tyborne and the Gem of Christendom by Mother Mary Magdalen Taylor
The Martyrdom of Father Campion and His Companions by William Cardinal Allen

Primary Sources:

Challenge to the Privy Council by Edmund Campion

Saint Thomas More (1478-1535)

St. Thomas More of London by Elizabeth Ince

The King's Good Servant but God's First by James Monti

Sir Thomas More attributed to William Shakespeare

Primary Sources:

Utopia by Saint Thomas More

The Sadness of Christ by Saint Thomas More

On the Web:

Center for Thomas More Studies

Movies:

A Man for All Seasons (1966 - Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Orson Welles)

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico, 1531)

Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego in Mexico several times between December 9 and December 12, 1531. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas and the unborn.

Picture Books:

The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola (1531)

Grade School:

Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe by Josephine Nobisso (Pauline Books & Media)

Teen/Adult:

A Handbook on Guadalupe edited by Brother Francis Mary, F.I.
Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness by Warren Carroll

Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

Grade School:

St. Francis of the Seven Seas by Albert Nevins

College/Adult:

Set All Afire: A Novel on St. Francis Xavier by Louis de Wohl

Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

Grade School:

St. Ignatius and the Company of Jesus by August Derleth (1491-1556)

High School/Adult:

St. Ignatius of Loyola by Francis Thompson
St. Ignatius of Loyola by James Broderick, S.J.
The Golden Thread: A Novel about St. Ignatius by Louis de Wohl

Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431)

Grade School:

Saint Joan: The Girl Soldier by Louis de Wohl
Boy Knight of Reims by Eloise Lownsbery

High School:

Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
Joan of Arc by Hilaire Belloc

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Grade School:

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Story of the Dumb Ox by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars by Brendan Larnen, O.P. and Milton Lomask

Teen/Adult:

St. Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton
excerpts from the Summa Theologiae TC pgs. 247-298
The Catechetical Instructions of St. Thomas Aquinas
The Quiet Light: A Novel About St. Thomas Aquinas by Louis de Wohl

Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Picture Books:
Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi by Tomie de Paola

Grade School:
Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi by Helen Walker Homan

Teen/Adult:
St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton
The Joyful Beggar: A Novel about St. Francis of Assisi by Louis de Wohl

Primary Sources:
The Sermon to the Birds The Book of Virtues 761-762
Writings of St. Francis of Assisi TC pgs. 201-233

13th Century AD

The Lost Baron by Allen French (1200)
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green (King John 1167-1216)
Big John's Secret by Eleanore Jewett (The 5th Crusade, 1218)
Saint Dominic: Preacher of the Rosary and Founder of the Dominican Order by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Saint Dominic and the Rosary by Catherine Beebe (1170-1221)
"The Miracle of Alatri, Italy", EM pgs 30-37 (1228)
"The Miracle of Santarem, Portugal", EM 38-46 (early 13th century)
"The Two Miracles of Florence, Italy", EM 47-49 (1230)
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns by Blanche Thompson (1207-1231)
Saint Anthony and the Christ Child by Helen Walker Homan (1195-1231)
"The Miracle of Daroca, Spain", EM 50-52 (1239)
"The Miracle of Olmutz, Czechoslovakia", EM 53-55 (1242)
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay
St. Hyacinth of Poland: The Story of the Apostle of the North by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
"The Miracle of Regensburg, Germany", EM 56-58 (1257)
"The Two Miracles of Paris, France", EM 63-65 (1274 and 1290)
He Went with Marco Polo by Louise Andrews Kent (1271-1295)
"The Miracle of Slavonice, Czechoslovakia", EM 66-69 (1280)
"The Miracle of Offida, Italy", EM 70-83 (1280)
Castle by David Macaulay (1283)
Women in the Days of the Cathedrals by Régine Pernoud

Architecture:

Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France (construction 1195-1220)

Saint Thomas Becket (d. 1170)

Grades 5-8:

If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard (or read-aloud to younger children)

Grades 9-12:

Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot

Movies:

Becket (1964 - Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud) - teen/adult - recommend previewing by parents first

On the Web:

Eyewitness to History

Images from Canterbury Cathedral

7th Century Irish Saints

Saint Kilian, Apostle of Franconia, Celtic Heritage Saints pgs. 25-27
Saint Hilda of Whitby, Celtic Heritage Saints pgs. 51-54 (614-671 AD)
Saint Carthage of Lismore, Celtic Heritage Saints pgs. 55-56
Saint Dympna of Gheel, Celtic Heritage Saints pgs. 61-63

Saint Augustine of Canterbury (England, died 605)

Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard
1963, Bethlehem Books, Sewn softcover, 179 pages, Catholic

Historical fiction account of the mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury to bring Christianity to England in 597, as seen through the eyes of a young boy accompanying the monks on the journey. While not as fast-paced as other Bethlehem Books titles, the story really brings the era to life and is a very good tale besides - full of little insights into human nature, Christian ideas and heroism.

Reviewed by Alicia Van Hecke (11-6-99)
Available from Adoremus Books, All Catholic Books, Aquinas and More, By Way of the Family, Emmanuel Books, Our Father's House, and Stella Maris Books

Saint Benedict (Italy, 480-547)

The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris (illustrated by Tomie de Paola)

Saint Benedict: Hero of the Hills by Mary Fabyan Windeatt

Citadel of God: A Novel about Saint Benedict by Louis de Wohl