Diverse Saints

I recently read “Every Tribe”, edited by Sharon Prentis, appropriately sub-titled ‘stories of diverse saints serving a diverse world’. Recognising that the Christian story has often been told in a way that gives priority to white males, this collection of stories seeks to redress the balance by high-lighting a necessarily small selection of ‘saints’ who have made a good contribution to the Christian story, but whose ethnicity is non-white. I agree that these stories need to be told, and allowed to come to the fore and so consider this a valuable contribution. Starting with St George who, as the patron saint of England, is often wrongly depicted as white - he was actually a Palestinian - the book works its way through a dozen stories across a number of centuries and helpfully reflects on the stories.

For instance, of St George it is said: “St George, so often domesticated for narrow nationalistic gains, should instead be seen as a brave man, bold in speaking about the faith and international in his appeal and acceptance, with communities in England sharing this Palestinian Roman saint with many other communities and nationalities around the world.”

One of the other stories comes from the sixteenth century and is of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin who, in 2001, became canonised as the first saint from the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The book says of him: “Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin’s importance to the people of Mexico, and all those who feel powerless, cannot be under-estimated. He speaks alike in accents that common people going about their business, in the marketplaces and in the tea houses, and those in seats of power in Mexico, can understand. It is the age-old truth: God raises up saints from the most unlikely of places and people.”

These are valuable stories with important lessons - and it is important to remember that behind them there are many others that remain untold.