A children’s book about the philosophy of Pope Benedict XVI has been published, featuring scenes from the 2010 papal visit to Britain.
Be Saints! An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI is written by author and blogger Amy Welborn and illustrated by the award-winning New York-based watercolourist Ann Kissane Engelhart, whose paintings have been featured in the Empire State Building and St Francis Hospital among other landmarks.
The book features scenes from the “Big Assembly”, where children from around England and Wales saw the Holy Father at St Mary’s College in Twickenham.
Also among the illustrations are Blessed John Henry Newman conducting a choir and a young man praying to St Thomas More and St John Fisher.
The project began in 2009 after Mrs Englehart, who had been reading Welborn’s blog Charlotte Was Both, and suggested working on a project about Benedict’s message.
The book gives advice on friendship with God, finding happiness and “giving yourself totally to Jesus”, as well as quotes by Pope Benedict such as: “What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ, and that we love him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary.”
Be Saints! An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI is published by the Catholic Truth Society and is on sale for £9.95.