Since its original publication in 1980, John J. Delaney's Dictionary of Saints (more than 200,000 copies sold) has become the leading reference book for the scholar and general reader alike. With more than five thousand biographies of the saints—from the well known to the obscure—this new edition brings to life the inspiring accomplishments of these men and women of God. The martyrs and the monks, the mystics and the virgins, the doctors and the peasants are all contained in this essential volume. To know the saints, how they thrived in their achievements, how they lived in destitution, is to meet a fascinating company of people whose actions have influenced and enriched the history of the world.