The Lives and Letters of the Counter-Reformation (8 vols.)

Giovanni Pietro Giussano (1553–1623) originally pursued the practice of medicine, having received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the age of 19. After only a few years and inspired by St. Charles Borromeo, Giussano devoted himself to the ecclesiastical life and joined the household of Borromeo as a priest and oblate of St. Ambrose. When St. Charles passed away, Giussano retired to Monza and wrote his biography of the archbishop.

Giovanni Pietro Giussano (1553–1623) originally pursued the practice of medicine, having received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the age of 19. After only a few years and inspired by St. Charles Borromeo, Giussano devoted himself to the ecclesiastical life and joined the household of Borromeo as a priest and oblate of St. Ambrose. When St. Charles passed away, Giussano retired to Monza and wrote his biography of the archbishop.

Henry James Coleridge (1822–1893) was a professor of Scripture at the Theological College of St. Bueno’s, North Wales. He was ordained as a Catholic priest He served as editor for The Month and The Messenger, for which he also wrote numerous articles and essays. His works include The Preparation of the Incarnation, The Public Life of Our Lord, The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, and The Life and Letters of St. Teresa.

Henry James Coleridge (1822–1893) was a professor of Scripture at the Theological College of St. Bueno’s, North Wales. He was ordained as a Catholic priest He served as editor for The Month and The Messenger, for which he also wrote numerous articles and essays. His works include The Preparation of the Incarnation, The Public Life of Our Lord, The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, and The Life and Letters of St. Teresa.

John of Ávila (1499–1569) was a Spanish priest, scholastic author, and religious mystic. He was originally on track to study law, but after a while at the University of Salamanca, he withdrew and spent the next three years living in austere piety. He moved on to the University of Alcalá de Henares to study philosophy and theology, and was ordained into the priesthood in 1526. Most of his work was done in Andalauía, a place of considerable spiritual apathy, where he preached and thousands would flock to hear his sermons. St. John of Ávila also served as the first rector for the University of Baeza, which became a model of educational institutions for Jesuits. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in October of 2012, and is affectionately remembered as the Apostle of Andalusia.

Longaro Degli Oddi was a Roman Catholic priest and Jesuit who lived at the end of the seventeenth century.

Jane Frances de Chantal (1572–1641) is a Catholic saint and foundress of the Congregation of the Visitation. She was born in Dijon, France, and after the death of her husband in 1600, she took a vow of chastity and grew a reputation as an excellent manager of her late husband’s estates and provided care for the needy and poor. She became friends with St. Frances de Sales and adopted his practices of religious devotion.

Emily Bowles was a nineteenth-century Catholic biographer known for writing about spiritual women. She was also a novelist and poet, in which Catholicism and spirituality were prominent themes.