Book review: “Saints Around the World”

“Saints Around the World” written by Meg Hunter-Kilmer and illustrated by Lindsey Sanders is an interesting book of a collection of saints and blesseds that would be appealing to teenagers and adults of all ages.  

The biographies are two or three pages in length with colorful illustrations, suitable for children and adults. The entries have the name of the saint or blessed at the top. On the top left is a pronunciation guide for the person's name. This is followed by where the person lived and then dates of the person's life span, followed by the date of their feast day. On the right side is a map of the world which shows where the saint or blessed lived and died. Below the image of the person is an explanation of the symbols involved in the colorful image.

Hunter-Kilmer includes a geographical index, feast day index, topical index and a chronological index. In the front is a world map where the reader can find where the saint is from. She includes 100 saints and blesseds in her book in no particular order. Some of the figures included in this book are: the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Monica, Saint Martin de Porres, Saint Josephine Bakhita, Saint Juan Diego, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Blessed Carlo Acutis, Blessed Carlos Rodriguez, Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, Saint Faustina, Saint Hildegard, Blessed John Sullivan, Saint Oscar Romero, Blessed Stanley Rother and Saint Teresa of Calcutta. This book is full of intriguing information for readers of any age. 

Meg Hunter-Kilmer was involved in the former Saint Gregory's University's campus ministry. She is a speaker, writer and missionary. She is the author of a quasi-sequel to this book, “Pray for Us : 75 saints who sinned, suffered, and struggled on their way to holiness,” published by Ave Maria Press in 2021. She also writes for the magazine “Magnificat.” 

“Saints Around the World” is highly recommended to readers of any age who are seeking to learn more about people recognized by the Church for leading lives of holiness. The artwork is very intriguing along with the symbolism of the art for each saint or blessed. 

Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., Saint Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee, is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.