
How to Be a Saint
An Extremely Weird and Mildly Sacrilegious History of The Catholic Church's Biggest Names
Kate Sidley(Author)
Sourcebooks, Inc (Publisher)
Published on 6. November 2025
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-7282-7741-7 (ISBN)
Description
Part history lesson. Part sacrilege. An entirely good time.
Think you have what it takes to be a saint? Lucky for you, thousands of souls have paved the way to heaven-creating a clear formula for getting the job done while also leaving a rich, disturbing history behind them. And in just five easy-ish steps, you can learn how to secure your own halo!
But even if the whole "dying and becoming a saint" thing doesn't appeal to you, the bizarrely bureaucratic process of canonization is still guaranteed to delight and entertain. How to Be Saint is a compulsively readable and endlessly entertaining ride through Catholicism for anyone who enjoys their history with a side of comedy. From flying friars to severed heads, this book explores the wild lives (and deaths) of saints and pulls the curtain back on the oddest quirks of religious doctrine.
Whether you're a lifelong Catholic or a weird-history enthusiast, How to Be a Saint is your ultimate guide to understanding the hilarious, fascinating, and shockingly true history of sainthood.
Think you have what it takes to be a saint? Lucky for you, thousands of souls have paved the way to heaven-creating a clear formula for getting the job done while also leaving a rich, disturbing history behind them. And in just five easy-ish steps, you can learn how to secure your own halo!
But even if the whole "dying and becoming a saint" thing doesn't appeal to you, the bizarrely bureaucratic process of canonization is still guaranteed to delight and entertain. How to Be Saint is a compulsively readable and endlessly entertaining ride through Catholicism for anyone who enjoys their history with a side of comedy. From flying friars to severed heads, this book explores the wild lives (and deaths) of saints and pulls the curtain back on the oddest quirks of religious doctrine.
Whether you're a lifelong Catholic or a weird-history enthusiast, How to Be a Saint is your ultimate guide to understanding the hilarious, fascinating, and shockingly true history of sainthood.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
610 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-7282-7741-7 (9781728277417)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kate Sidley
How to Be a Saint
An Extremely Weird and Mildly Sacrilegious History of The Catholic Church's Biggest Names
E-Book
08/2025
Sourcebooks
€19.99
Available for download
Person
KATE SIDLEY is a Writers Guild and Peabody award-winning, seven-time Emmy-nominated writer and performer living in New York. Currently, she is a writer and digital content producer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In addition to her comedy writing, Kate is a recovering Catholic school girl. To this day, she refuses to wear plaid skirts.