Enter into the Lives of the Stigmatists

Betsy Kerekes reviews Paul Kengor’s book about the lives of a very special group of saints. 

The Stigmatists: Their Gifts, Their Revelations, Their Warnings

by Paul Kengor

Publisher: TAN Books

The wonder of Paul Kengor’s latest book, The Stigmatists, is twofold. One, you glean a great deal of knowledge from his biographies. And two, doing so encourages greater holiness through the example of these amazing saints who bore the wounds of Christ. 

Do you know who the first stigmatist was? You may be surprised. Have stigmatists predominantly been male or female? What country are most of them from? Are all stigmata the same, and are they all visible?  

Have all stigmatists been Catholic? That’s another answer that may surprise you, as will the number of stigmatists there have been throughout the Church’s history. 

Kengor explores all of the above before delving chronologically into the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Catherine of Siena, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Saint Gemma Galgani, Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Blessed Elena Aiello, and Saint Faustina Kowalska, but, as he explains, there may be other stigmatists living among us today. 

Warnings for the times  

Many of these stigmatists were sent by God at a time when the Church was most in need of reform. The example of their holiness inspired and emboldened others to live their faith more fully. The suffering they endured to expiate the sins of the world reminds us that throughout the Church’s history, there have been dark times, but the Church always prevails.  

A poignant passage within the biography of Saint Francis of Assisi states:

Reform and repair seem to be a constant process and ever-going battle within Christ’s Church, which often seems to be falling into ruin not because of Him but because of his people.

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich relayed a vision of Saint Peter’s Basilica, stating: 

A great crowd of men were trying to pull it down while others constantly built it up again … The demolishers, mostly apostates and members of the different sects, broke off whole pieces … To my horror, I saw among them Catholic priests … They worked quietly and confidently, but slyly, furtively, and warily. I saw the Pope praying, surrounded by false friends who often did the very opposite to what he had ordered. 

The revelations given to saints rarely attach time frames; however, it may be safe to assume the above is a frequent, if not constant, occurrence. Is our current pope dealing with these same issues? Very likely. This should give us more reason to pray for the Pope and our Church. 

Kengor has a lot to say about Saint Catherine of Siena’s conversations with Jesus about the horrors of homosexuality within the priesthood. That was a problem in the 1300s? What must our Lord think of us now? 

Historical evidence 

Saints hundreds of years apart had the same vision of Satan unchained for a time 50-60 years before the year 2000, with lesser devils released some years before this. If you think about all that happened in the 18th century, this makes sense.  

Kengor, who has also written books about Communism, surmises that these devils paid visits to Karl Marx and Frederich Engels. Communism led to the deaths of more than 100 million people, Kengor noted. 

There are so many fascinating tidbits in this book. For instance, why Saint Gemma Galgani is a terror of demons, Padre Pio’s advice regarding our relationship with our guardian angel, and what Saint Faustina saw on her visit to Hell. Notably, “Most of the souls there are those who disbelieved there is a Hell,” she said.  

The End Times 

The last chapter is devoted to revelations about the end times, (where are our beeswax candles?!) which is far from light reading. Still, it’s enlightening to look at the whole of humanity from God’s perspective and wonder how much more He can endure.  

This is heavy stuff, and a reminder that, however many prayers and sacrifices we’re offering now, we probably ought to step that up tenfold. Read the book. You’ll see what I mean. 

The incredible saints in this book took “Offer it up” to the extreme, and to the benefit of the rest of humanity. To learn more and be inspired by their incredible holiness, add The Stigmatists to your collection.  

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Copyright 2024 Betsy Kerekes
Images: Canva