Summary
Summary of The Saint
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A holy life meets the world
Piero Maironi has given up his old self and now tries to serve God through humility and work. Around him gather a woman from his past, a monk who guides him, and people ready to call him a saint. His wish to live quietly draws him into questions that reach beyond his own conscience.
Antonio Fogazzaro places this man amid Catholic hopes for change. What does holiness cost, what does the Church need, and can one honest person move an institution?
Key idea 2
Benedetto cannot erase his past
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Key idea 3
Quiet habits prepare him for action
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Key idea 4
Jeanne brings love and doubt
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Key idea 5
Public devotion threatens private humility
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Key idea 6
Reform begins within the faith
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Key idea 7
Faith can be loyal and critical
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Key idea 8
Sincerity has a personal cost
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love novels of conscience, questions of faith, and Italy at the turn of the twentieth century, with spiritual renewal and the hope of reforming the Church.
What this book is
The Saint is a novel by the Italian writer Antonio Fogazzaro, published in 1905. It is the third book in a series about the Maironi family and their circle, and it follows the life of a man who has given up his old self to live as a penitent. The book appeared at a time when many Catholics in Italy and beyond were asking whether their Church should change. Fogazzaro, a believing Catholic, wrote it as a picture of what a holy life might look like in the modern world.
The hero is Piero Maironi, who now lives under another name and tries to serve God through humility and work. Around him gather a woman from his past, a monk who guides him, and crowds who begin to treat him as a saint. The book asks what holiness costs, what the Church needs, and whether one honest person can move an institution. In the pages that follow you will meet the main figures, the world they move in, and the questions the story keeps pressing. We begin with the man at its center.
In this summary
- 1A man who gave up his old lifeFree
- 2The monastery and its quiet teacher
- 3A woman from the past returns
- 4The crowd begins to see a saint
- 5A call to reform the Church
- 6What the book is about and how it speaks
Key point 1 of 6
A man who gave up his old life
The story centers on Piero Maironi, a man with a past. Readers of the earlier books in the series know him as a husband who failed, a lover who strayed, and a person marked by grief. When this novel begins, he has left that life behind and taken another name, Benedetto, which in Italian means blessed.
Benedetto has chosen a path of penance. He lives close to the monks and works with his hands, seeking nothing for himself. He wants to pay for his faults by serving others and by staying out of sight. The choice is not a pose. It comes from real remorse and a hunger for a cleaner way of living.
The novel is careful to show that this is not an easy road. A man who tries to erase his past finds that the past does not agree to be erased. People remember him, and old feelings stay alive under the new habits. Fogazzaro lets us feel the weight of what Benedetto carries.
This opening matters because it sets the test of the whole book. Can a person who has failed become good, and can goodness stay pure when others begin to notice it? The first part of the story plants that question.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does Benedetto choose a life of service and penance?
Right. “He wants to pay for his faults by serving others and by staying out of sight.”Not quite. “He wants to pay for his faults by serving others and by staying out of sight.”
Why does being called a saint trouble Benedetto?
Right. “He is troubled by attention, because he knows his own history and fears pride more than failure.”Not quite. “He is troubled by attention, because he knows his own history and fears pride more than failure.”
What kind of change does the novel seek for the Church?
Right. “It asked for reform from within, and that was enough to alarm those who held power.”Not quite. “It asked for reform from within, and that was enough to alarm those who held power.”
Who’s who
- Benedetto (Piero Maironi)
- A penitent who has left his former life behind, he seeks God under the guidance of Don Clemente.
- Jeanne Dessalle
- An independent woman who once loved Piero, she seeks him out and struggles to understand his changed life.
- Don Clemente
- A gentle Benedictine monk, he guides Benedetto and shares his hopes for renewal within the Church.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 121,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 5 min
- Listening time13 h 25 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about The Saint
What is The Saint by Fogazzaro about?
It follows Piero Maironi, who takes the name Benedetto and lives as a penitent among monks. As people begin to see him as holy, he turns to the cause of reforming the Church.
Is The Saint part of a series?
Yes. It is the third of Fogazzaro's novels about the Maironi family, after Piccolo mondo antico and Piccolo mondo moderno. It can be read alone, though earlier books enrich Piero's past.
When was The Saint written?
Fogazzaro published it in 1905, in Italian, under the title Il Santo. It was written in a period of debate over reform in the Catholic Church.
Why was The Saint controversial?
It urged reform within the Catholic Church and criticized faults in church life. The Church placed it on its list of forbidden books soon after publication, although the author remained a believer.
Is The Saint hard to read?
The prose is clear. Readers who like thoughtful, spiritual novels will do well.
