Guide 07 Writing on faith independent information
How to write a saint biography or a confirmation saint report
Writing about a saint takes two kinds of care: accuracy about the facts and respect for the faith of the people who honour that saint. Both are easier when you sort your sources first.
Choose a saint and read the sources
Start with what the saint wrote, if anything: letters, books, notes. Then read the earliest accounts by people who knew the saint or lived near the time. After that, turn to modern biographies by historians. Keep a list of which statements come from which source.
For recent saints, official documents from the cause for canonisation may be available, and the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints publishes information on the steps from Servant of God to Venerable, Blessed and Saint. Check which stage the person you are writing about has reached, because the wording matters.
Hagiography and history
Hagiography means writing about saints, and in older centuries it was often meant to edify rather than document. A famous medieval collection, the Golden Legend of the thirteenth century, mixes history with legend. Scholars such as the Bollandists, a group of Jesuit researchers who began the Acta Sanctorum in the seventeenth century, worked to separate firm evidence from later embellishment.
You can respect both. Report what the early sources say, mark what is traditional or legendary, and let the reader see the difference. A line such as tradition says is honest and still reverent.
Miracles and how to word them
Do not state a miracle as a fact of history in your own voice, and do not dismiss it either. Attribute it: the Church recognised a healing as a miracle in this year, or witnesses at the time reported this event. If a feast, relic or custom exists because of an event, you can describe the custom without arguing about the event.
This also protects you from errors. Many stories about saints are told in several versions, and the date or the place often differs.
An outline for a saint report
For a confirmation saint report, a simple outline usually works well. Give the saint's name and the dates and places of birth and death. Describe the family and early life. Describe what the saint did and what they are known for. Explain what the Church honours them for, including their feast day and any patronage. End with why you chose this saint and what you can learn from the life.
Check the length and format your parish or teacher asks for. The ideas that make a report good are the same as in any essay: a clear opening, specific scenes and honest reflection.
Citing and checking
List your sources at the end, and prefer books by reputable publishers, university presses and the official materials of religious orders. Websites that only repeat each other are a weak foundation. If two sources disagree about a date, say so.
If you are writing about your own spiritual path instead, see how to write a spiritual memoir. If you want a saint to invoke while you write, see the patron saint of writers.