Unsung Heroes of Christendom

It has long been a desire of mine to sing the praises of the unsung. These are those heroes of Christendom who are neglected and not as well-known as they should be. I am now able to sing such praises due to the generosity of Eric Sammons, editor of Crisis Magazine, who has invited me to write a series on “Unsung Heroes of Christendom.” Accepting his invitation with enthusiasm, I will begin with an elucidation of the criteria by which the “unsung heroes” will be selected.

As already stated, those selected will not be household names. They will be largely unknown or little-known even in good Catholic households. There will be a few saints among those selected—though they will not be the famous saints whom everyone knows. Most, however, will be people who have not been officially recognized or canonized by the Church. Some might not even be Catholics but will be treated as heroes of Christendom on the basis of their contribution to Christian civilization or their witness to Christian truth.

At this juncture, in order to avoid confusion, we should define what is meant by “Christendom”; but before doing so, we should state what Christendom is not. It is not something purely historical, referring solely to a particular period in history that has already passed away. It is not defined and confined by anything merely “medieval.” If it could be thus defined and confined, it could be said that Christendom is a thing of the past, something of merely historical interest, with little or no relevance to the modern world, the latter of which is post-Christendom and therefore, by implication, post-Christian. Contrary to such a constricted understanding, we need to see Christendom as a continuous and ever-contemporary reality.

Republished with gracious permission from Crisis Magazine (November 2023).

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The featured image is “The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs” (1420s) by Fra Angelico, and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.