I just came across a treasure trove, a compilation of reader reviews of My Cousin the Saint on one web site. About a dozen of them. There’s nothing better for a writer than to see how his or her story has resonated with readers.
Alas, the link is no longer live, but here’s an excerpt from one: “When a friend suggested that I read My Cousin The Saint, I hesitated for many reasons….I am not Catholic, I expected the book to be a boring tale of a religion that doesn’t necessarily interest me and I was raised in a secular home. My friend persisted and I am so grateful to her. By page 2, I was hooked…..and my interest continued all the way into the epilogue. Justin Catanoso writes about a quest that could just as easily be mine..in another country with different characters.”
My book, by the way, can be purchased inexpensively at many online retailers, particularly www.amazon.com
So many things about this time of year that remind me of the amazing and memorable month I spent in Italy exactly four years ago in doing research for my book. This day particular day, June 25, was both joyful and tragic. My day started with my cousin Giovanna, who drove me the 25 miles from Reggio Calabria to the hillside village of Pentidattilo, where Padre Gaetano had his first church and parish. We spent a few hours that morning wandering through the abandoned village. It was spectacular. On the drive home, however, I learned that Piero Catanso, the family patriarch and legend of the legal community in Reggio, had died suddenly that morning of a heart attach at age 65. Late that afternoon, my interpreter, Germaine, took to me Piero’s niece’s apartment, where the viewing took place just a few hours after Piero had died at the hospital.
My emotions that day were so conflicted and confused. I wondered if in doing the research for my book if I had actually encountered more than I was prepared to handle, whether I really was a part of this Italian family, whether it was necessary for me to return home to America a week early and put this entire book project on hold. But while my spiritual faith was always up for grabs, my faith in my Italian relatives held strong. The week I spent in Reggio after Piero’s death gave me incomparable insight into what it means to be a Catanoso in Italy, what it means to be part of such a large and loving family, and not incidentally, what it means to be related to a saint. A real saint, as in St. Gaetano Catanoso. I will always be profoundly grateful for that.
I know Piero’s wonderful wife Adriana and his grown children, Claudia, Allesandra and Natale, miss him as much today as they did the day he died four years ago today. The fact is, I miss him, too. And all of them as well.
Today is Easter, of course. It is also the anniversary of the death of Padre Gaetano Catanoso. He was 84 on this day in 1963, when he died in his own bed in Santo Spirito in Reggio Calabria. Some hours before his death, Monsignor Sorrentino of Reggio visited his mentor and spoke with him about Saint Francis of Paola, the last saint named from Calabria (in the early 1500s). The mother general of Padre Gaetano’s order of nuns mentioned to the monsignor that Calabria was in needs of new saints. Thus, the idea was lodged. Sorrentino launched the cause for canonization in 1980 under Pope John Paul II. The canonization, led by Pope Benedict XVI, took place Oct. 23, 2005.
In case you really, really wanted to see me talking with host D.G. Martin on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch on July 12, but just couldn’t get to a television, stop worrying! Just click here and enjoy the video.
Author and critic Mary DeTurris Poust wrote this brief review of My Cousin the Saint for Our Sunday Visitor, the nation’s largest circulating Catholic newspaper:
“Ever since I read the hardcover version of this book, I have been recommending it to friends who are Catholic, friends who are Italian, friends who like adventure travel stories because it is at once a story of pilgrimage, a story of heritage, a story of newly discovered family love. Justin Catanoso’s search for the history behind Padre Gaetano Catanoso, his grandfather’s cousin who was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, unfolds in beautiful prose that allows the reader to enter into the author’s own spiritual struggles and family celebrations. You will walk away from the book wondering how it is possible you didn’t know about Padre Gaetano long before you joined Catanoso on his quest for faith and knowledge.”
The web site “31 Days of Italians,” which celebrates Italy, Italians and Italian-Americans every day of the month, reviews My Cousin the Saint here. Just in time for the paperback release in four days! (But who’s counting?)
With the paperback version of My Cousin the Saint printed and being shipped to stores, I’m happy to provide this link on Amazon to where you can order your very own copy! Orders will ship in mid June. I would love to hear your thoughts on the new cover design and subtitle (posted below). Tell your friends!
