Alicia Van Hecke

Catherine was born in the year 1347 of a wealthy family in Siena, Italy. These were troubled times in her native country. The pope was living in Avignon, France, and rival Italian cities and families were constantly at war with one another. The author gives presents a rather interesting story of a rather remarkable little girl who had heavenly visions and was a light of comfort and cheer to all those who came in contact with her. As Catherine grew older she live a very pious and austere life, offering great penances to Our Lord and working to help the poor and convert sinners.

This is a beautiful, Academy Award winning movie depicting the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette in Lourdes, France, in the mid-1800s. The depiction is accurate - based on the book of the same title by Franz Werfel - but also beautifully and powerfully produced. Jennifer Jones is the simple and unpretentious Bernadette, Vincent Price is a town magistrate who is skeptical of the apparitions and rather hostile to Bernadette. An excellent family film and one of the finest Hollywood films of a religious nature.

A sweet, fully animated, half hour movie for young children, about the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette, in Lourdes France in the mid 1800s. The story is told from the point of view of a family with a crippled boy about to visit Lourdes, whose father explains why they are making the trip.

In the consistent style of the Vision Series of non-fiction Catholic stories for young people, the author presents a very engaging account of the important story of Our Lady's appearnces to Bernadette Soubirous - probably the poorest and simplest child in the small town of Lourdes, France. Bernadette's beautiful devotion is inspiring and her stubborn honesty is refreshing. More important, however, is Our Lady's message and her profound effect on those who come to her out of devotion and sometimes only curiosity.

Although this series of Saint Stories from Catholic Heritage Curricula is listed on our Reading Comprehension page, they should also not be overlooked as really wonderful stories for their own sake. The stories are well-written and contain very interesting details about the lives of the saints that I haven't seen elsewhere. Highly Recommended!

In the Bethlehem Books catalog, this book is recommended for ages 5 - 10, but I think many of the stories will be appealing even for preschoolers. The stories have been carefully chosen to be interesting to children at the "fairy tale age". Many of the saints chosen are knights and princesses with adventures and lessons to share with your children. Some parents may not like the informality of her story-telling style, but I think most will appreciate using this book to foster an interest in the Saints at a very young age.

"In writing this volume, the purpose has been to acquaint our children with biographies that will have some particular influence on the development of their characters. Each story has been planned as a real character-training project, not merely as a reading lesson to inspire admiration for faith and religious heroism." (From the Foreword)

This is a fascinating and surprisingly readable (but lengthy) biography of St. John Vianney - the definitive one, carefully researched from the documents produced for the canonization process. It is most suitable for adults, but will be appropriate for teens who enjoy reading - it is particularly beneficial for young men considering the priesthood. Some of the particular stories about St. John Vianney and those whose lives he touched are absolutely amazing.

This is a quicker and slightly easier read than the title by Mary Fabyan Windeatt. It lacks the richness of explanations about the priesthood, but I thought that it portrayed St. John Vianney's humility and simplicity a little more clearly. It's also clearly written to be interesting even to those who are not accustomed to reading saint stories, so there is more emphasis on exciting events, such as when John Vianney, as a young boy, helped to hide a hunted priest from the authorities.

Although this is a bit longer than some of the other Saint stories by the same author, my children have been enjoying this story very much as a read-aloud. The story is told in the first person - from the point of view of St. John Vianney himself. (My children have particularly enjoyed this perspective and found it a nice change from the ordinary.) The author also weaves a great deal of thoughtful commentary upon the importance and mystery of priesthood into the story as well as important concepts about the love of God and the need for prayer and penance.