The Directory of Saints: A Concise Guide to Patron Saints [Paperback]

Annette Sandoval (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

An alphabetical handbook allows readers to find the right saint for prayer in many situations, from business opportunities to family problems to illness to marriage, and includes information on saints' lives, feast days, and baptismal names.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Dictionaries of saints abound, but few offer access by area of patronage. Sandoval, whose interest in saints began in parochial school, offers a handy compilation of several hundred saints listed alphabetically by patron subject (places, conditions, and occupations). Her introduction gives a simple overview of the saint-making process today (though the required scholarly investigative volume is a positio, not postio). She includes modern saints in her listing, but the majority date from the early centuries to the Middle Ages; some patronage areas have more than one saint assigned. While the short biographies are quite readable, entries are not referenced, and there is no reverse list by saint names to patron subjects. Persons formally declared "Blessed"-a stage toward beatification, as with Margaret of Castello, invoked for the unborn-are not included. A shorter second section includes a Roman Catholic saints calendar, baptismal names, and a brief bibliography. Similar to Helen Roeder's older Saints and Their Attributes: With a Guide to Localities and Patronage (1956), this book is interesting to browse. Recommended for its convenience where there is a demand.
Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Signet (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451186869
• ISBN-13: 978-0451186867
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #968,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loaded with interesting facts about patron saints. Who Knew?, November 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Directory of Saints: A Concise Guide To Patron Saints (Hardcover)

I've never been especially interested in the lives of Saints per se, or actually never really knew much about them, despite my parochial upbringing. All I knew was that many of them were martyred and had for the most part lived fairly holy lives... and have since become the patron saints of something or other...and I'm using that term losely. We have the patron saint of cooks who was actually grilled to death in a giant waffle iron. Now that's interesting if somewhat morbid reading. There is a patron saint to just about anything you can think of from the mundane to somewhat bizarre, and is a good argument for the saying that truth is stranger that fiction. It also serves as a cross reference to help in locating the patron saint of just about any remedy. Also listed are the patron saints for each day of the year. It's everything you never knew about saints and more...very well written, highly readable and without all the doctrine. It contains just the facts and only the most interesting ones. In closing I would have to say that I was most pleasantly surprised by this very entertaining book and that the author did a good job in presenting the subject matter for the lay reader with that in mind.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, December 7, 2007

By 

Stratiotes Doxha Theon "2 Thes 2:15" (Richmond, Missouri) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Directory of Saints: A Concise Guide To Patron Saints (Hardcover)

An easy and enjoyable read that provides a good grounding In hagiography. The conversational style of the text is well-suited for the topic of saints and makes for an enjoyable and informative read. Very well done and a handy reference for guidance in finding saints for special veneration or simply to satisfy your curiosity.