REVIEW: Beautiful book on the female martyrs of the Roman Canon!

When I was living in Rome, I made a point to visit or, if possible, say Mass at churches or altars in Rome dedicated to all the saints of the Roman Canon.  Every day, since I read the Traditional Latin Mass, I revisit my canonic friends.  I have relics of saints of the Canon by the altar, including one of a female saint, the great Agnes, so venerated even today by the Romans, the patroness of the parish where I entered the Church.

Personally, when I say the Canon, with its two lists of saints, I often think of them as being part of my Catholic family tree.

I received a delightful… delightful… book:

With Glory and Honor You Crowned Them: The Female Martyrs of the Roman Canon by Matthew Manint

US HERE – UK HERE

This is a terrific little book, filled with great devotion on the part of the writer.

There is a lovely introduction about how the author was moved to write this… as he was visiting the grand church dedicated to St. Agnes in Rome on the Piazza Navona.

Each chapter has multiple color plates.

Each chapter about one of the female saints has good information.  For example, in the section about Sts. Perpetua and Felicity we see the remains of the once enormous amphitheater of ancient Carthage.  This makes their story, the Passio, concrete.

What a great gift this book would be to a young woman.

This would be great for all of you who often hear the Roman Canon.

This would be really great for priests!  Perhaps it will inspire some who don’t often use the Roman Canon to choose to use it more often.  And it could help a priest’s personal prayer of the Roman Canon when he uses it.

Lastly, these are NOT just legendary figures.  These are real people!

And let us not forget that there are modern martyrs!   I have in mind a little girl who was martyred in China.  No, these are real people who really lived and really died for the love of God.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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6 Comments

  1. L. says:

    What is this “Roman Canon” of which you write?
    I assisted at Sunday Mass several years ago in a small church in the West Virginia mountains. The Parish Priest was excellent as was every aspect of his Novus Ordo Mass. As we were leaving I told him that it was a pleasure to hear the Roman Canon since I never get to hear it at home. His reply was, “Oh, my!”
    I’m sick of the “dewfall.”

  2. WmHesch says:

    Even among secular scholars, St. Perpetua’s prison diary is regarded as the best 1st person narrative written by a woman in Roman antiquity

  3. xavier says:

    Father,

    Really elegeant! Does the book have the publisher’s website. I look for it but couldn’t find it.

    Thanks!

    xavier

  4. matt from az says:

    I named my daughter Felicity. I wanted a saint’s name and my first thought was to look at the Roman Canon. It turned out to be the perfect name. Everyone says it’s a pretty name (it is). Some people ask its origin and when I tell them the Roman Canon, it’s an opportunity to evangelize. It also fits my daughters personality perfectly. She is the happiest of girls. I like to think that the saint is with her always.

  5. JesusFreak84 says:

    Guess who has Agnes for a Confirmation name ;p *Wish lists*

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