Book Review and Giveaway: The Grace of Everyday Saints by Julian Guthrie

St Brigid's 1964, courtesy of SF Public Library Collection

Well today is All Saints Day, so I thought it only appropriate that we talk about a book titled The Grace of Everyday Saints. It's subject matter is relevant to the day as well!

Synopsis: St. Brigid Church was one of San Francisco's great landmarks in the early 1990s. The church itself had weathered depressions and natural disasters, epic earthquakes and a massive fire. Its loyal congregation was active, vibrant, and growing. But in 1993, without warning, the Catholic archdiocese mysteriously ordered its doors to be closed. 


The Grace of Everyday Saints is the story of how a ragtag group of believers came together in a crusade to save their church. What they discovered would be devastating: that around the country, parishes like theirs were threatened by the higher echelons of the Church, all to hide a terrible secret. Soon there were near-daily headlines that shocked the world. But still this unlikely group of heroes—led by a renegade lawyer, a reformed Catholic, and an antiestablishment priest—continued to meet weekly, to fight, to prove that their beloved St. Brigid was worth saving. This is their story, from the streets of San Francisco to the halls of the Vatican, a tale of injustice and betrayal, redemption and grace.

About the Author: Julian Guthrie is a journalist with the San Francisco Chronicle, who has won numerous awards, including the Best of the West Award and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Public Service Award. Her articles have also been published by Salon.com, San Francisco Magazine, Forbes FYI and Conde Nast Traveler. This is her first nonfiction book. Read more on her website!

Review: I loved this book. I have been to St Brigid's multiple times, as I went to school in the area. It is a LOVELY church and when you walk in you can feel the history in it's very air and walls. That the archdioce's decided to close a SELF-SUPPORTING church was a crime that the parishoners could not overcome no matter how much they tried, while following within the order of the Roman Catholic church, and outside of it. Guthrie does an excellent job at breathing life to the story of their epic battle. You will feel the David versus Goliath situation, as you read and be hoping for a happy ending.


I wish I could give you one, but there isn't. After the St. Brigid's parishoners were effective in keeping the church from being demolished in 2005, by getting the building itself Landmarked under California State law. Then the San Francisco Diocese sold the building to the Academy of Art University. The Academy has kept the church as a 'chapel' for their students, and the parishoners are fighting to landmark the interior of the church, to keep it intact. Their fight is thought to be the longest running one in Catholic America's history!


This book is proof that a church is not just the 4 walls and a roof, it is the PEOPLE who attend it. Without the people, the church would not exist. It could by any building.  Guthrie does an excellent job in showcasing the different personalities from ST. Brigid's and how when there is a common for, people will band together. If you are looking for a wonderful character book, this is it. Plus it's a quick read! I urge whoever wins this book to read it, and then pass it on- spread the grace of St. Brigid's!



**
**



Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Amazon VIne, for review, and promotional, purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.