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Saint Benedict: The Story of the Father of the Western Monks
The famous life and great miracles of St. Benedict, for youth. The story of poisoned wine, saving a body from drowning, raising one from the dead, plus, how he founded the Benedictine Order, his sister, St. Scholastica, etc. Impr. 158 pgs 19 Illus, PB
158 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1942
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About the author
Mary Fabyan Windeatt
101 books25 followersMary Fabyan Windeatt was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1910. Interested in music as a child, she received a degree in music from Toronto Conservatory of Music at the age of fifteen and a further degree in music from Mount Saint Vincent College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1927. This same year she moved with her family to San Diego, California, graduating from San Diego State College in 1934 with a degree in business.
She moved to New York to seek employment in the field of advertising but was unsuccessful. With time on her hands, she began to write and in 1934, she sent a story, which was accepted for publication, to a Catholic magazine. She continued to write while pursuing her studies, graduating in 1940 with a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Miss Windeatt eventually contributed verse, book reviews, short stories, and articles to thirty-three different publications and wrote numerous biographies of saints for children. The first biography, Saints in the Sky, The Story of St. Catherine of Siena, was published in 1941. Considerable research went into her books; for example, she traveled to Peru in the summer of 1941 prior to publishing Lad of Lima, The Story of Blessed Martin de Porres in 1942. (St. Martin de Porres was canonized a saint in 1962.) In addition to her biographies, she also wrote the text for twenty-eight Catholic coloring books and was a regular contributor to the monthly Dominican magazine The Torch in which many of her books originally appeared in serial form. A third-order (secular) Dominican, she has been called the “storyteller of the saints”—especially Dominican saints.
Later in life, Miss Windeatt moved near St. Meinrad’s Abbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana with her mother. She died on November 20, 1979.
Under their original titles, the series of saint biographies that Mary Fabyan Windeatt wrote in the 1940’s and 1950’s are currently out of print. However between 1991 and 1994, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. republished twenty of these saint biographies.
Rich in Roman Catholic culture and doctrine, these books illustrate to both children and adults how the Faith was lived every day by the saints; they inspire us to know, love, and serve God as the saints did. Mary Fabyan Windeatt had the ability to relate much factual information about each saint while seasoning the narrative with the doctrinal truths they lived. While each saint shines forth in these books, these writings also reveal to us Ms. Windeatt’s own strong Catholic beliefs; her faith too lives on.
She moved to New York to seek employment in the field of advertising but was unsuccessful. With time on her hands, she began to write and in 1934, she sent a story, which was accepted for publication, to a Catholic magazine. She continued to write while pursuing her studies, graduating in 1940 with a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Miss Windeatt eventually contributed verse, book reviews, short stories, and articles to thirty-three different publications and wrote numerous biographies of saints for children. The first biography, Saints in the Sky, The Story of St. Catherine of Siena, was published in 1941. Considerable research went into her books; for example, she traveled to Peru in the summer of 1941 prior to publishing Lad of Lima, The Story of Blessed Martin de Porres in 1942. (St. Martin de Porres was canonized a saint in 1962.) In addition to her biographies, she also wrote the text for twenty-eight Catholic coloring books and was a regular contributor to the monthly Dominican magazine The Torch in which many of her books originally appeared in serial form. A third-order (secular) Dominican, she has been called the “storyteller of the saints”—especially Dominican saints.
Later in life, Miss Windeatt moved near St. Meinrad’s Abbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana with her mother. She died on November 20, 1979.
Under their original titles, the series of saint biographies that Mary Fabyan Windeatt wrote in the 1940’s and 1950’s are currently out of print. However between 1991 and 1994, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. republished twenty of these saint biographies.
Rich in Roman Catholic culture and doctrine, these books illustrate to both children and adults how the Faith was lived every day by the saints; they inspire us to know, love, and serve God as the saints did. Mary Fabyan Windeatt had the ability to relate much factual information about each saint while seasoning the narrative with the doctrinal truths they lived. While each saint shines forth in these books, these writings also reveal to us Ms. Windeatt’s own strong Catholic beliefs; her faith too lives on.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 8, 2021
What a beautiful story! Just finished reading this book with my son for a 6th grade book report. It is such an inspirational book on how we should all follow the "rule" of peace...to love one another despite differences and always keep your trust in God. I enjoyed the story as much as my son.
January 4, 2013
Anytime a book make your kids want to act more virtuous, you can't go wrong. My kids (and I) were truly inspired after reading this book. The book is perfectly written for middle aged kids; yet I enjoyed it as well.
August 14, 2019
Inspiring! Makes me want to be a Benedictine...Absolutely for Adults as well as older children
December 30, 2019
This was a great book to learn more about St. Benedict. We read it as a family kids aged 1 to 10 and enjoyed it!
April 12, 2021
Enjoyed this book as part of a book study with my 6th grade son.
December 9, 2021
Sooo good! I love this series. This is my 3rd favorite of all of the books. Inspired my with his many miracles and quote, “Ora at Labora.”
January 7, 2023
Dated and fantastical but good intro into a great man's life.
February 18, 2023
Decent book, appropriate for children.
September 19, 2022
This is a childish book full of outrageous miracles and exaggerated piety.
March 12, 2013
I don't really like her books; she just needs to make them more conversational. I realize that they are boigraphies, but at least make them a little more interesting with some adjectives and adverbs! I feel like she's just listing facts and putting them into chapters. Mary, if you ever (hopefully) read this, take this into consideration! Thanks!
January 26, 2017
I enjoy this author's books that make the saints not dry, boring figures but really living people. Great for 6th grade plus.
December 22, 2013
Good series
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews