Bill Briggs

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. The topic, which is the canonization of Mother Theodore, is something that I was interested enough to request, but not something that I would have necessarily purchased on my own. I am not catholic and was raised to be wary of organized religion. However, I found this book a really fascinating window into everything that it takes in order for a person to become a saint.
As an attorney, I found it really fascinating that one of the key players in assisting the Indiana order of nuns get their founding member through the steps of canonization was an Italian attorney who devoted his entire practice to assisting congregations in this way. I always thought of the process of being canonized as being very mysterious and other-worldly and the idea that there is a lawyer you go to to help you with it, just like you would if you were having a will made or getting a divorce, was really interesting.
I also really appreciated the author's subtle critique of the subservient position in which the Catholic church has insisted on keeping women. The author does not present a feminist diatribe, but he definitely raises questions by pointing out that female nuns are the ones who are doing much of the actual in the trenches work of spreading the faith and are not being properly respected. In addition, the subject of canonization, Mother Theodore, is in herself something of a feminist icon because she was dispatched from her home in France in the middle of the nineteenth century to start a new Catholic order in what was then the wilderness of Indiana.
My only negative comments about this book are the lengthy and overly dry descriptions of the biology of the eye. Some of this is necessary because the miracle which ultimately leads to Mother Theodore's canonization is a healing of a diseased eye and there is a great deal of medical scrutiny that is required before it can be declared a miracle. However, because the descriptions were often repetitive and sometimes unnecessarily long I could have done without a lot of them.… (mere)

Though I grew up in the Catholic church, I don't consider myself a person of faith. I was initially concerned that this book, which is so intertwined with Catholic doctrine, would be chock full of eye-roll inducing leaps in logic. Luckily, that wasn't the case at all.

The main plot of the book revolves around one communities quest to have a local nun recognized as a saint. The author did a superb job of mixing the story with the appropriate amount of background. It got extremely in depth – but not so much as to leave the reader confused. I found myself completely captivated and intrigued with the process of having a person canonized.

I finished the book feeling as though I'd learned a lot about something I didn't even know I'd wanted to know about – and I enjoyed the process of getting there. It takes a special kind of writer to make this material both accessible and enjoyable and it is apparent that Bill Briggs is exactly that kind of writer.… (mere)

This is the story of the road to sainthood. A young woman, Mother Theodore Guerin and five other young
women who set out from France to found a convent for theSisters of Providence in October of 1840.

The ocean crossing was very difficult and stormy. They then traveled westward to the shores of Lake Michigan.
The woman acquired an old farmhouse and some surrounding acres. From there grew into the convent and school called Saint Mary of the Woods college.

Mother Theodore Guerin not only lived an exemplary life, but an inspiring one. So inspiring was it, that in time she was considered for sainthood. This is the story of the journey taken by those in her order and in the Catholic Church to have her canonized

Although there is a lot of history and church politics involved in this story, this reads more like a novel than a history. We meet the recipients of miracles performed due to the intercession of Mother Theodore Guerin. Their stories are warm and the people involved are comfortable and pleasant to spend time with.

Although I am not a Catholic, I found this to be an intriguing and interesting read. I do not think this is a book for everyone, but despite my lack of participation in the Catholic church, I am very interested in the workings of the Vatican. I enjoyed it, and you might find it interesting as well.… (mere)