There are a handful of words most people will never misspell. They are the words they once misspelled when they got knocked out of a spelling bee. Mine are lunule, hexafoos, and hagiography. The last one is pertinent here:
Hagiography: (1) biography of saints or venerated persons. (2) idealizing or idolizing biography
(Source: Merriam-Webster online dictionary)
Hagiography sounds like an arcane word, obscure and maybe old and stodgy. Maybe that has to do with “hag.” Unfortunately, that’s sometimes how the lives of the saints come across. Through misperception or stale storytelling, the lives of the saints may seem boring or irrelevant. They are quite the opposite!
Holiness is relevant in every time and place throughout human history, and achieving that holiness is the result of inherent struggles, often heroic ones. Sometimes the tension between good and evil is played out in dramatic fashion as in the lives of martyrs. Sometimes it is an internal struggle hidden behind a cloister wall. In both cases, there is tension ripe for a good story.
If you’re looking for lives of the saints (and blessed) stories that will highlight that struggle in ways that are relevant and relatable, told in compelling novels, I have five recommendations to get you started. Find these books and more saint novels at CatholicTeenBooks.com/saint-stories.
Crusader King by Susan Peek
This story about the recently-trending leper king, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, has been inspiring teen readers for two decades.
A historical novel about the unusual life of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, the leper crusader king who – despite ascending to the throne at only 13, his early death at 24 and his debilitating disease – performed great and heroic deeds in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Treachery and Truth by Katy Huth Jones
You’ve heard the carol “Good King Wenceslas,” but what do you know about him?
Immersed in the historical background of the tenth century, this true tale of Good King Wenceslas, as told by his faithful servant Poidevin, brings the reader into the Dark Ages. Fear grips the land of Bohemia as the faithful face betrayal and persecution under the reign of the pagan Duchess Dragomira. As she struggles for power with the rightful heir, Prince Vaclav, her foes forge alliances in secret despite the risk of discovery. Who will survive?
The Boy Who Knew by Corinna Turner
Learn about the life of soon-to-be-saint Bl. Carlo Acutis through the eyes of a contemporary teen suffering with leukemia. Look for its re-release from Ignatius Press!
Daniel’s just received the worst news a teen can get. The adults in his life are crumbling under the shock. In desperation, he turns to his parish priest for help and is introduced to a boy his age, Carlo Acutis—who just happens to be dead.
Daniel’s convinced the priest is wasting his time. But as he struggles to come to terms with his uncertain future an unlikely friendship develops between him and the holy dead boy—who may not be quite so dead after all.
A Lion for a Tomb by Corinna Turner
The age-old tension between Islam and Christianity is front and center in this contemporary story highlighting the life and death of St. Ignatius of Antioch.
Razim’s family are Muslim. His best friend, Daniel, is Christian. It’s never mattered before. But now Razim’s brother has become a crazed Islamic extremist and Daniel has turned into a total Jesus freak—and Razim is caught in the middle.
When Razim stumbles across a prayer card of an old man with brown skin just like his, who seems mind-bogglingly happy that he’s being eaten by lions, Razim’s curiosity overflows.
What could possibly make a man happy to face his own death?
And will Razim have to risk his own to find out?
The King’s Prey by Susan Peek
St. Dymphna has become increasingly popular, often invoked as an intercessor for anxiety, depression, and mental illness. You want drama? This story’s got it.
An insane king. His fleeing daughter. Estranged brothers, with a scarred past, risking everything to save her from a fate worse than death. Toss in a holy priest and a lovable wolfhound, and get ready for a wild race across Ireland. Will Dymphna escape her deranged father and his sinful desires?
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