Christopher Pelicano (Illustrator)
ISBN 9781621647690
eISBN 9781642293425
ASIN
This book was a big hit for me. I am a huge fan of Fiorella’s works, I love the Vision Books for Young Readers. This was the 22 book by Fiorella de Maria that I have read and the 23rd in the Vision Book Series I have read. I stumbled upon her works a few years ago and I read nine of them in as many weeks. And now eagerly await each new offering from her masterful pen. I was eagerly anticipating this book, since she mentioned it on social media. I have tracked down and read everything by her under the name Fiorella de Maria. And this is the fourth volume she has written for the New Vision Books Series from Ignatius. It is her fifth Catholic biography.
The description of this book states:
“From the time Aloysius Schwartz was a young boy, he wanted to be a hero like his comic book favorites. To the poor he served in Asia and Latin America, the missionary priest was more than a hero; he was a saint.
Growing up during the Depression, the future "Father Al" saw his parents struggle to make ends meet. But nothing quite prepared him for the poverty he saw in South Korea after the Korean War. The people were not simply poor; they were starving. Father Al was moved to do everything he could to help them, especially the orphaned children living in the streets.
With funds raised mostly in the United States, Father Al opened orphanages and boarding schools for thousands of poor children, and not only in South Korea. He built what he called Boystowns and Girlstowns in the Philippines and Mexico too, and he founded the Sisters of Mary and the Brothers of Christ to run them.
It seemed that nothing could slow down this intrepid, big-hearted priest--that is, until he was struck with Lou Gehrig's disease. As he began to decline, he remained cheerful, full of hope that the God he had served so faithfully was awaiting him in heaven.”
About the author we are informed:
“Fiorella De Maria was born in Italy of Maltese parents. She grew up in Wiltshire, England, and attended Cambridge University, where she received a Bachelor's in English Literature and a Master's in Renaissance Literature. She lives in Surrey with her husband and children. A winner of the National Book Prize of Malta, she has published four other novels with Ignatius Press: Poor Banished Children, Do No Harm, We'll Never Tell Them and the first Father Gabriel mystery, The Sleeping Witness.”
I only highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, and all of those were early on. Some of them are:
“Cedelia was a woman of prayer, and it never failed her. She had prayed for a good husband and a happy marriage. Now she prayed for healthy children who would have vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.”
“Al stood in front of his make-believe altar and intoned the Latin words he had heard the priest pray so many times in church. Such beautiful words, such amazing prayers. Al closed his eyes, imagining himself celebrating Mass at the high altar at his own parish church.”
“The commandos Al read about in his comic books were heroes because they fought evil and defended the innocent. The Nazis were the bad guys of the day. The news was filled with stories of the horrors the Nazis were committing in Germany and across Europe, and every boy wanted to fight them. But the Catholic Faith had its own heroes and commandos, brave saints and martyrs who gave witness to Christ in the most hostile of places.”
“There’s always someone worse off, thought Al on the journey home. There’s always someone poorer, weaker, someone who needs my help. The thought would grow in Al’s mind over the weeks and months to come. Was God calling him to live a life of poverty? Rather than enduring poverty as one of those unfortunate things that happened to families like his, was God calling him to be poor always, so that he could help others?”
“Al would always be popular—admired for his determination to be a priest, and a star student—but to his friends and peers at Saint Charles, he would never stop being Little Mouse.”
I do not recall encountering the life of this priest previously. Prior to reading this volume. I searched the 5200 blog posts I have written and only 1 review makes reference to him and it was a single chapter in a devotional book. That one reference was in How They Love Mary 28 Life-Changing Stories of Devotion to Our Lady by Father Edward Looney.
Once I started reading I could hardly put this volume down. It was a fascinating read from beginning to end. It was inspiring and challenging to read about his life, his priesthood, his ministry and his service to the poor. This is one of those stories that will leave a lasting impact on the young and to be honest anyone who reads it.
De Maria had me from the start. I added the Canonization prayer the volume ends with to my daily prayers, I was so inspired by the volume. This book and series is aimed for younger readers, but they are so well written they can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. My two youngest both teenagers enjoy them, I am in my fifties and I love them, those Ignatius brought back in print, the new expansions from them of the series, and the originals I can lay my hands on that Ignatius has not licensed. This is an excellent book in a wonderful series. And there are two other new titles in this series in 2026 to look forward to; The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien by Cheri Blomquist and Cheryl C.D. Hughes volume Fulton J. Sheen God's Great Communicator. Any volume in this series would be great additions to any home, school, or church library. An excellent book I can easily recommend!
Books in the Vision Books Saints Biographies:
The Cure of Ars
Edmund Campion
Florence Nightingale's Nuns
Fr. Marquette and the Great Rivers
Francis and Clare, Saints of Assisi
Kateri Tekakwitha
Mother Cabrini, Missionary to the World
Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity
Saint Anthony and the Christ Child
Saint Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal
Saint Dominic and the Rosary
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns
Saint Francis of the Seven Seas
Saint Helena and the True Cross
Saint Ignatius and the Company of Jesus
Saint Isaac and the Indians
Saint Katherine Drexel
Saint Louis and the Last Crusade
Saint Philip of the Joyous Heart
Saint Therese and the Roses
Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars
Saint Thomas More of London
Vincent De Paul: Saint of Charity
The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien
Fulton J. Sheen God’s Great Communicator
…
Out of Print books in the Series:
Catholic Campuses, Stories of American Catholic Colleges
Champions in Sports and Spirit
Children Welcome: Villages for Boys and Girls
Christmas and the Saints
Columbus and the New World
Dear Philippine: Mission of Mother Duchesne
Edel Quinn: Beneath the Southern Cross
Frances Warde and the First Sisters of Mercy
Good Pope John b
Governor Al Smith
In American Vineyards, Religious Orders in the United States
John Carroll Bishop and Patriot
John Neumann, The Children's Bishop
Kit Carson of the Old West
Lydia Longley, the First American Nun
Marguerite Bourgeoys, Pioneer Teacher
Martin de Porres, Saint of the New World
Modern Crusaders
More Champions in Sports and Spirit
Mother Barat's Vineyard
My Eskimos: A Priest in the Artic
Peter and Paul: The Rock and the Sword
Peter Claver, Saint Among Slaves
Pope Pius XII, the World's Shepherd
Rose Hawthorne: The Pilgramage of Nathaniel's Daughter
Saints of the Byzantine World
Sarah Peter: The Dream and the Harvest
St. Augustine and His Search for Faith
St. Francis de Sales
St. Gregory the Great, Consul of God
St. Jerome and the Bible
St. Margaret Mary, Apostle of the Sacred Heart
The Bible Story, The Promised Lord and His Coming
The Cross in the West
The Ursulines, Nuns of Adventure
…
...
Books by Fiorella De Maria:
The Cassandra Curse
Father William's Daughter
Poor Banished Children
Do No Harm
We'll Never Tell Them
A Most Dangerous Innocence
I Am Margaret The Play
Father Gabriel Mysteries:
The Sleeping Witness
The Vanishing Woman
See No Evil
The Cassandra Curse
Father William's Daughter
Poor Banished Children
Do No Harm
We'll Never Tell Them
A Most Dangerous Innocence
I Am Margaret The Play
Father Gabriel Mysteries:
The Sleeping Witness
The Vanishing Woman
See No Evil
Death of a Scholar
Nonfiction:
Robert Southwell – CTS Saints of the Isles
…
Skaters Series:
Nonfiction:
Robert Southwell – CTS Saints of the Isles
Books as Fiorella Nash:
The Abolition of Woman: How Radical Feminism Is Betraying Women
...
Author Profile and Interview with Fiorella de Maria.
The Abolition of Woman: How Radical Feminism Is Betraying Women
...
Author Profile and Interview with Fiorella de Maria.
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