Butler's lives of the saints (original: 1985; edição: 2003)

Pope John Paul II proclaimed an unprecedented number of new saints and blesseds in the 25 years of his pontificate and didn't slow the process, despite the criticism from at least one cardinal that the altars are getting 'a little crowded'. The proclamations were made in a large number of countries, from which the new saints and blesseds have come. This reflects a deliberate policy of strengthening the faith of local churches against the threats from totalitarianism, secularism, Pentecostalism, etc. (the Vatican tends to see most of the 'outside' world as a threat). There has also been a deliberate policy to seek more examples of holiness from outside the ranks of clergy and religious. The twentieth century has been seen as the century of martyrs, largely those of Nazism and Communism, and they feature prominently- those of nominally Catholic military regimes are less favoured. This volume covers a four-year period in Butler's style. Blesseds appearing in the 1995-2000 volumes who have since been canonized have their entries updated and expanded as necessary; new blesseds are featured with as much information as is available on them. The 80+ entries range from 200 to 3,000 words in length.