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Praise for
Heroes of the Catholic Reformation
Saints Who Renewed the Church
by Joseph Pearce
“Heroes of the Catholic Reformation is a marvelous work of historical synthesis; it is learned, incisive, and written with the ardor of deep faith. It will inspire its readers to imitate the holiness of some of the Church’s greatest reformers.”
— Christopher O. Blum, Academic Dean, Augustine Institute
“Pearce combines cogent historical analysis with vivid biographical detail. Providing context to our understanding of the reformations of the sixteenth century, he describes the lives and legacies of great English martyrs and European reformers — leaving the reader wanting more!”
— Stephanie A. Mann, author of Supremacy and Survival: How Catholics Endured the English Reformation
“The saints are the heroes of the Catholic Church. Joseph Pearce’s Heroes of the Catholic Reformation is a page turner and a must read, as it is a powerful portrayal of men and women who courageously served the Church during difficult times. This book is a celebration of Catholic heroes.”
— Most Rev. James S. Wall, Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico
“Joseph Pearce’s beautiful sketches bring to life the ‘heroes of the Catholic reformation.’ He illumines the connection between heroism and sanctity and makes us experience once more the greatness of John Fisher, Thomas More, Teresa of Ávila, and Edmund Campion, among others. And he draws striking parallels between the usurpations of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and secularist tyranny in our own time.”
— Daniel J. Mahoney, Augustine Chair in Distinguished Scholarship, Assumption College
“Now here, much to the relief of upholders as well of Catholic orthodoxy as of historical accuracy, comes this welcome book by Joseph Pearce who is not afraid of calling a spade a spade, a heretic a heretic, and the so-called ‘reformation’ a deformation. The true Reformation (in the singular) he rightly sees as the Catholic Reformation, spear-headed by the Council of Trent and implemented by … heroes and saints.”
— Fr. Peter Milward, S.J., Professor Emeritus, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
“Joseph Pearce, in his usual passionate style, provides a compelling portrait of Catholic saints and martyrs in one of the most dramatic periods in the history of Christianity.”
— Dr. Paul Baxa, Chairman, History Department, Ave Maria University
Heroes
of the
Catholic
Reformation
Saints Who Renewed the Church
Joseph Pearce
Our
Sunday
Visitor
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Huntington, Indiana 46750
Scripture citations in this work are taken from the Douay-Rheims Version of the Holy Bible
(revised by Bishop Richard Challoner, 1749–1752).
Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.
Copyright © 2017 by Joseph Pearce. Published 2017.
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All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission from the publisher. For more information, visit: www.osv.com/permissions.
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division; Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN 46750; 1-800-348-2440
ISBN: 978-1-61278-389-5 (Inventory No. T1756)
eISBN: 978-1-61278-394-9
LCCN: 2017936441
Cover design: Amanda Falk
Cover art (from left to right): St. Charles Borromeo: St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica, London, Ontario, The Crosiers; St. Ignatius of Loyola: P. Rubens, Restored Traditions; St. Thomas More: H. Holbein, Restored Traditions; St. Teresa of Ávila: P. Rubens, Restored Traditions; St. Philip Neri: Brompton Oratory (Immaculate Heart of Mary), London, United Kingdom, The Crosiers; St. Francis Xavier: Shutterstock
Cover background: Shutterstock
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
About the Author
A native of England, Joseph Pearce is senior editor at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado. He is also editor of the St. Austin Review (www.staustinreview.org), an international review of Catholic culture, series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions (www.ignatiuscriticaleditions.com), and executive director of Catholic Courses (www.catholiccourses.com).
The internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile, and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc, Joseph Pearce is a world-recognized biographer of modern Christian literary figures. His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Croatian, and Polish.
Pearce has hosted two thirteen-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN, and has also written and presented documentaries on EWTN on the Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. He has participated and lectured at a wide variety of international and literary events at major colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Britain, Europe, Africa, and South America. He is also a regular guest on national television and radio programs, and has served as consultant for film documentaries on J. R. R. Tolkien, Francis Thompson, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
FOR
SUSANNAH
A HEROINE
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