Catholic Novels

Join Michael on an Amish-style farmstead as he learns to milk a cow, harness a horse, disk a field, and harvest hay with a team instead of a tractor. Will he discover the truth about the papacy, the Eucharist, and devotion to Mary in Sacred Scripture?

Excellent beginner's book on Catholic apologetics.
Paperback, 316 pages. Lilyfield Press.
By Martin de Porres Kennedy."

A literary phenomenon in Italy, this European best-seller was voted the best Italian novel of the decade in a public survey. Its success has gone way beyond Italy, having been translated into Spanish, French, Japanese and 3 other languages. This epic historical novel about World War II and after, written from the author's own personal experiences as an Italian Freedom Fighter, is a profoundly moving account of the war, those who fought in it on both sides, and the effects the war had on families in the author's hometown in northern Italy.

On a wider scale, it is a faithful witness to the actual events of the war—including the historic personages who appear, the Russian campaign, the Nazi barbarism, the Communist gulag, the North Italian resistance, and beyond to the political life in the two decades after the war. This world, filled with powerful personalities, drama and clashing armies, bathes in the complex light of the truth.

A truly great historical novel with its epic scope, what makes this a masterpiece is the underlying spiritual dimensions of the protagonist, his family and friends, which illuminates the ongoing tragedy of the war and its aftermath. In the end, it is a story of faith and hope in a world reduced to barbarism and cruelty.

Born in 1921 in Lombardy, Eugenio Corti joined the Italian Freedom Fighters. From his experiences of the tragic retreat from Russia, Corti wrote a fascinating chronicle, Most Did Not Return, and a book about the Italian Freedom Fighters, The Last Soldiers of the King. Soft cover Ignatius Prss Spring 2002
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The story teems with action, pageantry and intrigue with finely conceived characters-the beautiful, saintly Clare, Frederick, the hawk-faced King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, the Sultan Al Kamil, Pope Innocent III. The scene shifts from Assisi, Rome and Sicily to the deadly sands of Egypt.

374 pages; Paperback
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A Novel about St. Ignatius Loyola

Here is a skillful weaving of the story of St. Ignatius Loyola?s conversion and pilgrimage with the colorful and dangerous history of Spain and Italy in the early sixteenth century. The life of the very human, very great Basque nobleman who founded the Jesuit Order, makes for one of de Wohl?s finest novels.

Seriously wounded at the siege of Pamplona in 1521, Don Inigo de Loyola learned that to be a Knight of God was an infinitely greater honor (and infinitely more dangerous) than to be a Knight in the forces of the Emperor. Uli von der Flue, humorous, intelligent and courageous Swiss mercenary, was responsible for the canon shot which incapacitated the worldly and ambitious young nobleman, and Uli became deeply involved in Loyola?s life. With Juanita, disguised as the boy Juan, Uli followed Loyola on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to protect him, but it was the saint who protected Uli and Juan. Through Uli?s eyes we see the surge and violence of the turbulent period in Jerusalem, Spain and Rome.

Louis de Wohl has again created an exciting and spiritually inspiring novel for all readers of historical fiction. Louis de Wohl was a distinguished and internationally acclaimed Catholic novelist whose popular historical novels on saints have been best-sellers worldwide, selling in the millions. Other available titles include Lay Siege to Heaven, Citadel of God, Set All Afire, The Restless Flame, and The Quiet Light. Many of his books were made into films. 315 pages, Sewn Softcover.
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O’Brien takes the reader deep into the heart of a “small” person. There he uncovers the beauty and struggles of a soul who wants only to create, to help others to see what she sees. The story also explores the complex lies and false images, the ambitions and posturing that dominate much of contemporary culture, and shows how these have contributed to a loss of our understanding of the sacredness of each human life.

Once again, Michael O’Brien beautifully demonstrates that no matter how insignificant a person may be in the world’s eyes, marvels and mysteries are to be found in everyone. His central character, Rose, is among the despised and rejected of the earth, yet her life bears witness to the greatness in man, and to his eternal destiny. Hardcover 853 pages. Ignatius Press, Fall 2003.
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Island of the World is the story of a child born in 1933 into the turbulent world of the Balkans and tracing his life into the third millennium. The central character is Josip Lasta, the son of an impoverished school teacher in a remote village high in the mountains of the Bosnian interior. As the novel begins, World War II is underway and the entire region of Yugoslavia is torn by conflicting factions: German and Italian occupying armies, and the rebel forces that resist them—the fascist Ustashe, Serb nationalist Chetniks, and Communist Partisans. As events gather momentum, hell breaks loose, and the young and the innocent are caught in the path of great evils. Their only remaining strength is their religious faith and their families.

For more than a century, the confused and highly inflammatory history of former Yugoslavia has been the subject of numerous books, many of them rife with revisionist history and propaganda. The peoples of the Balkans live on the border of three worlds: the Islamic, the orthodox Slavic East, and Catholic Europe, and as such they stand in the path of major world conflicts that are not only geo-political but fundamentally spiritual. This novel cuts to the core question: how does a person retain his identity, indeed his humanity, in absolutely dehumanizing situations?

In the life of the central character, the author demonstrates that this will demand suffering and sacrifice, heroism and even holiness. When he is twelve years old, his entire world is destroyed, and so begins a lifelong Odyssey to find again the faith which the blows of evil have shattered. The plot takes the reader through Josip's youth, his young manhood, life under the Communist regime, hope and loss and unexpected blessings, the growth of his creative powers as a poet, and the ultimate test of his life. Ultimately this novel is about the crucifixion of a soul—and resurrection.
Ignatius Press Fall 2007 850 pages, Hardcover.

The renowned novelist De Wohl, with his usual crisp language and descriptive narrative, as well as irony and humor, presents the colorful and tumultuous times of the early Christian era in this story of intrigue, romance and power politics revolving around Helena, the devoted and saintly mother of Constantine, the first Christian emperor. This historical novel tells the story of the quest for the True Cross through fifty years of the most exciting events in Roman and Christian history. The narrative begins when the Tribune Constantius, a Roman officer stationed in Britain, meets and wins Helena, only daughter of the mystical and oracular King Coel of Britain. Through the course of their early lives together, and during their ten-year separation when Constantius returns to Britian as a conquering Caesar and Helena has become a rejected wife, devoted mother, and militant Christian, there is a sure and convincing portrayal of character growth and personal conflict. Helena's fierce determination to raise Constantine as a warrior son and her gradual discovery and dramatic acceptance of Christianity prepare her for the final miracle of her life discovery of the True Cross, the Living Wood on Calvary. The Living Wood is a chapter from the turbulent half-forgotten pages of early Christian history and legend in which the religious conflicts and problems are handled with moving simplicity. It is also an action-packed novel of those times—with a lesson for us today—that captures with equal skill and tumult and the shouting of the battlefield and the devious plots and counter-plots of the court. 280 pages, paperback. Ignatius Press 2008.
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One of the most memorable sleuths in the canon of detective fiction has to be Father Brown, the small priest with “a face as round and dull as a Norfolk dumpling”, but who nevertheless outwits the greatest criminal minds with his wisdom regarding human nature. Brought to life here by actor Kevin O’Brien in a series of dramatic readings, this unabridged audio book of The Innocence of Father Brown also features an introduction and conclusion to each chapter by Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society and host of EWTN’s immensely popular television series, G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense.

First published in 1910, The Innocence of Father Brown includes many of the greatest Father Brown stories, including The Blue Cross, The Flying Stars, and The Hammer of God. So, sit back and enjoy the brilliance and wit of G.K. Chesterton’s inimitable Father Brown.

Kevin O’Brien is a stage and screen actor and theatrical director. He leads the popular Theater of the Word Incorporated, and has appeared in countless productions. He is currently appearing on EWTN in the new series, Theater of the Word.

Recorded on 12 CDs.
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"The strength of Joan Mueller's novel is its close adherence to the historical realities of the medieval world of Saint Francis. I could see and hear the everyday lives of Francis and his brothers, of Clare and her sisters, of ordinary citizens. Mueller's rendering of the lives of clergymen and knights puts a human face on the intricate workings of church and state in war and peace."

Murray Bodo, O.F.M.

Physical Info: 0.82" H x 8.92" L x 6.22" W (0.9 lbs) 272 pages
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When classics professor Reed Stubblefield is disabled in a school shooting, he retreats to a rural Illinois cabin to recover and write a book on Aristotle.

Oddly, in the chill of early March, the campgrounds and motels of tiny River Falls are filled with the ill and infirm -- all seeking the healing touch of the town's new parish priest, reputed to be a stigmatic, who bears on his hands and feet the wounds of Christ.

Skeptical about religion, Reed is nevertheless drawn into a friendship with the cleric, Rev. Ray Boudreau, an amiable Aquinas scholar with a fine library.

Then, as Fr. Boudreau carries the Cross up to the altar during solemn Good Friday services, he collapses and bleeds to death right in front of his horrified parishioners.

A miracle?

Or bloody murder?

Discovering he’s the prime suspect in the unexplained death of his friend, Reed races to find the truth before he gets arrested . . . or killed.

Because not everyone in town wants this mystery solved.

Physical Info: 0.6" H x 8.4" L x 5.4" W (0.7 lbs) 261 pages.
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