Monsignor Thomas John Capel was one of the best known men in Victorian Britain, a celebrity preacher and converter of nobility and gentry to the Catholic faith. But all was not as it seemed. This is the story of the Irish-born priest's profligate womanizing, heavy drinking and eventual ruin and disgrace.
St. Bernadette's impoverished childhood, visions of Our Lady, and tragic death at the age of 35 are recalled in this groundbreaking book. Irish miracles and cures at Lourdes are recollected. Visits by John F. Kennedy, Grace Kelly and Seamus Heaney are described, bringing the reader up-close to the wonders of Lourdes in a way never achieved before.