Padre Pio was born in a rural, farming village. He entered a Franciscan order centered on harsh penance and radical poverty. He lived more than fifty years in a mountain hermitage. And yet, everyone has heard his name. But few know who Padre Pio truly was. In his latest work, Bret Thoman has pierced the life of Padre Pio in a novel way: through a pilgrimage to all eleven Capuchin friaries and sites where the stigmatic saint lived. With Pietrelcina as his base, Thoman sets out each morning to the "Convents of Padre Pio." He accompanies the reader into these special places with captivating ...

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina is perhaps the single most extraordinary saint in the modern history of the Catholic Church. His heart was pierced. He carried the wounds of Christ on his hands, feet, and side for half a century. He communicated with his spiritual sons and daughters through bilocation and mystical perfume. He read the souls of his penitents. He offered his suffering so that others might be healed. He built one of the most significant hospitals in Southern Italy. Most importantly, Padre Pio wanted others to be redeemed. In Bret Thoman’s latest book, he has created a fresh, new ...

Adolfo Affatato is one of the last living spiritual sons of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Recently translated into English, “Padre Pio and I” is the culmination of what he witnessed as he sat by the saint’s side for sixteen years. This is not a typical biography by a journalist, friar, or academic; instead, the author presents “the Padre” intimately and personally -- as a father figure who tenderly guided and directed him. This book is filled with riveting new accounts of the mystical side of Padre Pio: from the moment Affatato was called by name by Padre Pio out of a crowd to Padre ...

Lucia Fiorentino (1889-1934) lived a hidden but extraordinary life. She was one of the earliest spiritual daughters of Padre Pio. She was also a mystic, victim soul, and recipient of numerous charisms, such as visions and locutions. In 1906, she had a vision of an immense tree planted near the Capuchin friary in her native village of San Giovanni Rotondo. Then she heard a voice: “This is the symbol of a soul who is now far away but will come here. He will be strong and well-rooted like this tree and will cover the entire world with its umbrage.” When Padre Pio arrived in 1916, she ...

Discover St. Zélie and the important lessons she can teach us! Although she lived a hundred and fifty years ago, St. Zélie Martin (1831-1877) was a modern woman. She was a working mother who cared deeply about both her family and her career. She struggled to balance all her responsibilities. She often worried. But she always put God first and strove for holiness in everything she did. She and her husband, Louis, were canonized together on October 18, 2015. They are best known as the parents of five daughters who entered religious life. Their most famous child is St. Thérèse of the Child...

We see and hear the horrors of terrorism and war, crime, corruption, rage, violence, inequality, poverty, and attacks on human dignity at every level. We are in a war with evil. It's real, and it's personal. Here is your weapon, and here is a warrior to fight beside you. In this book, you'll learn to pray the Rosary in a whole new way, battling along-side Mary as you pray the 20 mysteries.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016) is known primarily for his tireless work as the official exorcist of Rome. But he was also a journalist, noted theologian, and biblical scholar. In this book, one of five he wrote about Mary, he retraces the life of the Virgin Mary. Drawing on the Gospels, Catholic Tradition, conciliar documents, and papal teachings, Fr. Amorth accompanies the reader on a veritable Marian itinerary. Divided into thirty-one chapters, one for each day of the month, the author breaks open the Gospels, particularly Matthew and Luke. As a biblical exegete, Fr. Amorth carefully ...

"We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing is more profitable." On Loving God is first a touching description of God's love for us as unmistakenly demonstrated in the death of His Son. Second, it is a call for us to joyfully respond to God like the child who runs and embraces her father whose love is sure. As St. Bernard writes, "They love all the more because they know themselves to be loved so exceedingly."

On July 5, 1902, Maria Goretti was brutally stabbed to death by Alessandro Serenelli. The 11-year-old virgin-martyr not only fought to maintain her purity; she forgave her killer and declared that she wanted him to be with her in Heaven. In what is the most in-depth biography on the life of St. Maria Goretti in the English language, author Bret Thoman brings the saga to life like never before. To create the most extensive and comprehensive English-language biography of Maria Goretti, the author drew from the most updated Italian biographies as sources. Moreover, he personally visited the ...

The Petrine verses (or Biblical passages referring to St. Peter, his role, and the office of the papacy) are perhaps the most controverted passages in the history of Christianity in the last 1, 000 years. This study of St. Peter’s role in the Bible puts to rest any doubts about the true sources for and meaning behind Jesus’s commission to St. Peter (Matthew 16:18), not to mention numerous other passages out of both the Old and New Testaments. Employing language accessible to an average reader, all historically debated passages about St. Peter and the papacy are unpacked so that their ...