Great Teachers

The greatest teachers of the Catholic Faith lived in times just like our own, which Pope Benedict XVI demonstrates in his new book, Great Teachers (Our Sunday Visitor, 2011, 128 pp, hardback). They provided people, including misdirected clergy and religious, much-needed direction in times fraught with scandal and strife, and guided the Church through pervasive confusion and discouragement to renewal and strength. Among some 12 saints, abbots, and theologians profiled for their stalwart faith and appreciation for Gospel truth, Great Teachers focuses on two 13th-century saints -- St. Francis of Assisi (founder of the Franciscans) and St. Dominic Guzman (founder of the Dominicans). Both were convicted by personal holiness to make the case for a return to Gospel poverty, deeper Church unity, and renewed evangelization -- especially throughout the European university system. It is a strangely similar scenario to the one the Church finds herself in today. A commonality among the great teache