Saints Preserve Us

About Saints Preserve Us

Saints Preserve Us is an irreverent but informative show that chronicles the bizarre lives, often equally bizarre deaths, and posthumous mythologies of Catholic Saints. It's a glorious mash-up of true-life crime documentaries, shocking but true historical exposés, reassuring spiritual feel-goodery, and gory examinations of mankind's exaltations and depravations. Each episode will showcase specific saints examining their lives, the art they've inspired, and the legacies they've left behind. Through the lens of these misfits, martyrs, and messiahs we will also explore themes and topics that are relevant to the culture today including political division, apocalyptic fixation, quests for revenge, women's rights, racial inequality, life, death, and the debate over free will versus determinism. We'll interview members of the clergy, art historians, religious studies professors, theologians, and luminaries from the world of literature and pop culture who can offer insight into the pantheon of Saints, their meaning, their significance, their impact on our society and how they can help us understand our current moment. Every week the show will also feature our in-house Saints experts and award-winning authors of the book Saints Preserve Us, Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rogers. Sean Kelly was the editor of National Lampoon from 1971 to 1978 during which he "broke his own record for obscurantism, reach an apotheosis with a dense parody of Finnegan's Wake." In 1975 he was a founding editor of Heavy Metal, the adult fantasy magazine, and as a freelance writer, he has been published in Bazaar, Benneton’s Colors, Interview, Irish America Magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Playboy, SPY, The Village Voice, & the Quarterly of Joyce Studies. He reviewed a great many children’s books for the New York Times and created material for John Candy, George Carlin, Jane Curtin, Robert Klein, Steve Martin, Martin Mull, Gilda Radner, & Jonathan Winters. Rosemary Rogers is an author, humorist, and former music producer whose eight books have been published by Random House, Villard, St. Martin’s Press, Hearst, Barnes & Noble, and City Lights. She collaborated with Sean Kelly on the bestseller Saints Preserve Us, currently in its 18th international printing. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, O. The Oprah Magazine, Oprah: Live Your Best Life, and Irish America, where she contributed to the magazine, website, and podcast and has been running her ongoing series “Wild Women.” She also frequently collaborates with her husband, Robert Downey, Sr. Sean and Rosemary are joined each week by their producer and co-host Christian O’Toole, former Director of Video and Podcast Producer for Men’s Journal and story producer and editor of two documentary features on psilocybin assisted therapy, Focus on Clinical Research: Part One - The Johns Hopkins Stoy and Focus on Clinical Research: Part 2 - Death, Dying and Psychedelics.

Publisher

Saints Preserve Us

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Jul 2021

Latest episode

17 Mar 2022

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Mar 2022

   Saint Patrick

   It's the day for the wearing of the green and you would think with names like O'Toole, Kelly and Rogers our hosts would be extremely reverential of the patron Saint of Ireland (and Nigeria) but you would be wrong. Turns out the guy's name was Succat and he wasn't even Irish! Learn more about this unofficial patron Saint of drunken pub crawls and his connection to the Springfield tradition of whacking day on this week's episode.

2. 

   14 Feb 2022

   Saint Valentine's Day

   Saints Preserve Us returns for season two with an exploration of the history of Saint Valentine and how he inspired the modern romantic holiday that is now celebrated in his name. Along the way we learn how he sent the first valentine note ever while in jail waiting to have his head cut off. We find out which of Valentine's relics reside in the Church of the Metastasis of the Virgin Mary on the Island of Lesbos and we ponder the love of Spartan warriors for their fellow men.

3. 

   5 Jan 2022

   Ep. 16 - The End of Ordinary Time with St. Nicholas & Christ the King of the Universe

   In this episode we recognize the End of Ordinary Time and the end of Season One of Saints Preserve Us. Along the way we acknowledge The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and discuss a little celebration that happens around his birth, which was overshadowed this year by our grander celebration of Michaelmas. We also highlight some other December Saints, most notably Jolly Old Saint Nick and learn how New York City invented Christmas as we know it today to stop the Irish from getting drunk and running wild in the streets. We recount the horrific details of the tragic death of teen martyr Saint Eulalia and wonder why so many stories of Saints from December involve people being put in barrels. And finally Sean shares a memory from his childhood of a special feast that used to be celebrated on January first but now must never be spoken of under penalty of excommunication. It's been a wild and wonderful first season of Saints Preserve Us and we want to thank all of our listeners and our esteemed guests. Stay tuned for Saintly Stories in 2022! Until then check out the book that started it all at: https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Preserve-Us-Everything-About/dp/067975038X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2X4P0XHMQJ8VB&keywords=saints+preserve+us&qid=1641343677&sprefix=saints%2520preserve%2520u%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

4. 

   3 Dec 2021

   Ep. 15 - Saints Who Performed Abortions With Maeve Callan

   On this episode we are joined by Maeve Callan Chair of the Religion Department, Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Co-Director of the Interfaith Fellows Program and Professor of Religion at Simpson College in Iowa, and author of The Templars, the Witch, and the Wild Irish, to discuss the sure to be uncontroversial topic of four Irish Saints who were said to have miraculously ended unwanted pregnancies. We also explore the history of the Catholic Church's stance on abortion and finally talk about our co-host Christian O'Toole's very distant relative Saint Lawrence O'Toole. You can read Maeve Callan's article that kicked off this whole kerfuffle here: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/saints-once-did-abortions-it-was-a-lesser-sin-than-oral-sex-1.3466881 And you can find Maeve's book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Templars-Witch-Wild-Irish-Vengeance/dp/1501713566 You can also read more about the Church's historical positions on abortion in Molly Monk's article for The Outline.com: https://theoutline.com/post/8536/catholic-history-abortion-brigid Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

5. 

   16 Nov 2021

   Ep. 14 - Santa Muerte & Malachy O'More in Folk vs. Canonized Saints

   In this episode we apologize for an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary depicted as a skeleton that was posted to our Twitter account on Halloween, and we explore the controversial kerfuffle kicked off by the image around the Mexican cult figure and folk-Catholic, but unofficial, Saint: Santa Muerte. We then turn to a Saint officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, Malachy O'More, a reformer of the Irish liturgy and the first Irish Saint to be officially Canonized. We learn about Malachy's dire predictions of the rise of the Anti-Pope/Antichrist that could be coming soon. And finally, we delight in the story of Saint Rumwold, the miraculous baby Saint who lived all of three days but still managed to declare himself a Christian, request baptism, and preach a sermon before he died. Follow us on Twitter (where we hope to not offend anyone again but can't make any promises) at: https://twitter.com/SaintsPreserve Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

6. 

   31 Oct 2021

   Ep. 13 - All Hallows & Incorruptible Saints with Elizabeth Harper

   On this very special All Hallows Spooky Saint Spectacular, we learn about the Saintly origins of Halloween and dive deep into the mysterious world of incorrupt Saints with writer and photographer Elizabeth Harper of All the Saints You Should Know, who has faced and photographed these Saintly relics in person around the world. From martyrs whose exquisite corpses never decompose to the bejeweled skeletal remains of the catacomb Saints, we explore the uncanny valley of Saints who exist in a spiritual world somewhere between life and death. Christian also makes his Halloween pitch for our listeners to check out Midnight Mass on Netflix for some high-end Catholic horror from director Mike Flanagan and his wife Kate Siegel. You can check out Elizabeth Harper's wonderfully creepy blog All the Saints You Should Know at: http://www.allthesaintsyoushouldknow.com/ And follow her on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/CadaverFormosus Also check out Midnight Mass on Netflix at: https://www.netflix.com/title/81083626 And finally, follow Saints Preserve Us at: https://twitter.com/SaintsPreserve Happy All Hallows, All Saints & All Souls Day to one and all! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

7. 

   30 Oct 2021

   Ep. 12 - The Mysteries of the Rosary with Ian Chillag from Everything is Alive

   On today's episode of Saints Preserve Us, we are joined by Ian Chillag, host and producer of the incredible podcast Everything is Alive, to ponder the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. We learn the history and religious significance of these inanimate objects and ask Ian who he would cast to play a Rosary if one were ever to appear as a guest on his show. We also learn about Ian's brief time in a Catholic middle school and how there he learned first and foremost about the worst possible ways to die. We also wrap up the month of October by checking in on some Saints we may have missed earlier in the month including Pelagia the Harlot, the brothers Crispin and Crispian (who were name-checked in Shakespeare's Henry V), patron of lost causes Saint Jude Thaddeus, and the possible foot fetishist Saint Hedwig of Silesia. You can check out Everything is Alive at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-is-alive/id1388419519 And you can follow Saints Preserve Us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SaintsPreserve Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

8. 

   21 Oct 2021

   EP. 11 - Saint Ursula and The 11,000 Virgins with Eric Huang from Saint Podcast

   This week we are joined by the creator and host of Saint Podcast, Eric Huang, to discuss Saint Ursula, a British princess who was killed by the Huns in Cologne Germany on October 21st 383 AD, and who miraculously managed to take 11,000 virgins and one pope down with her. We also learn how Ursula inspired a very early commune of liberated women and how a convent of Ursuline nuns suffered madness and demonic possession during a quarantine lockdown in a global pandemic (something we can all relate to). Eric shares how this wild tale inspired both a book by Aldus Huxley and a nearly pornographic 1971 film called The Devils by director Ken Russell. We also revisit the earlier October feast days of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower, whose autobiography is much maligned by our co-host Sean Kelly. And finally, we offer our support for the proposed beatification of a modern young woman who was inspired by both St. Francis and St. Thérèse, Cristina Gaztelu Vargas. You can read about Cristina on the Saint Kateri Conservation website here: https://kateri.org/in-tribute/ (https://t.co/KsifegQXns?amp=1) And you can learn more about Saint Podcast at: https://www.saintpodcast.com/ (https://www.saintpodcast.com/) Also please check out Saints Preserve Us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SaintsPreserve (https://twitter.com/SaintsPreserve) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

9. 

   6 Oct 2021

   Ep. 10 - Merry Michaelmas!

   Since recording this episode on September 29th, Sean, Rosemary, and Christian have been celebrating Michaelmas, the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, for seven days straight, in honor of the seven churches, lined up from Skellig Michael in Ireland to Stella Maris Monastery in Israel, on the famous geographic Sword of Saint Michael. From the Book of Revelation to Paradise Lost, we learn all about Michael's incredible powers and his legendary performance in the Battle in Heaven, as he cast down the dragon Satan (formerly known as Lucifer). We find that after being cast out of Heaven, Satan landed in a blackberry bush and was so angry he urinated all over it, which is why we don't eat blackberries picked after Michaelmas. We do learn, however, that we can eat blackberry pie at our joyous Michaelmas celebration, along with carrots tied with string, a green goose, french waffles, and a beer made by landlords called Audit Ale. We also share some special Michaelmas connections to Lenny Bruce, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ike & Tina, Wonder Woman, The Seven Samurai, and the Netflix series Dark. The great Saint Michael rightly reserves most of our reverence this week, but we also save a little time at the end of the episode for The "Not-So-Good" King Wenceslaus, Saint Jerome the reformed skirt chaser, twin brother Saints Cosmas and Damian (early supporters of Medicare For All), and the absolutely lovely and charitable humanitarian St. Vincent De Paul. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

10. 

    23 Sept 2021

    Ep. 08 - Pondering Purgatory with Saint Nicholas of Tolentino

    On this episode, we move beyond the bloody beheading horrors of last week's show to question the more metaphysical nightmare of Purgatory, the eternal waiting room where people who sinned (but not too mortally) await their souls' slow movement through the afterlife's most mundane bureaucracy. We also learn about the divine daycare of unbaptized babies known as Limbo and hear the tales of two German frauleins, one of whom had an amazing cookie recipe, wrote new age music, and could be considered the patron saint of modern-day social media influencers. Finally, we meet two monks, one who flies and one who farts. It is truly an episode that has it all! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

11. 

    18 Sept 2021

    Ep. 07 - Four Beheadings and a Funeral

    In this blood-splattered, gore-soaked episode we learn about the noted masochist and self-harmer Rose of Lima and her power to prevent earthquakes. We also find out why John the Baptist, Saint Sabina, and Saint Seraphima were all beheaded and how the Saints' stories relate to another beheaded character, Ned Stark of Game of Thrones. Finally, we explore who would the Bachelorette be more likely to take on a date: Saint Michael the Archangel or Lucifer the Lightbringer, and the answer surprises absolutely no one. Fair warning there is some dark and bloody material in this episode that may not be appropriate for younger listeners. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

12. 

    29 Aug 2021

    EP. 06 - Shakespeare & Saint Robert Southwell with Garrett Armyn

    On this episode we are joined by actor Garrett Armyn, fresh off his performance as The Count of Monte Cristo for the Hudson Classical Theater Company, to discuss the surprising connection between English Jesuit martyr Saint Robert Southwell and his cousin William Shakespeare. Garrett performs poems by Southwell and explores how phrases and passages written by the Saint show up in plays such as Hamlet and Macbeth. We also note the feast of Saint Genesius, patron of actors, comedians, clowns, and lawyers. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

13. 

    22 Aug 2021

    Ep. 05 - Saint Helena and the Patrons You Need For COVID19

    On this week's episode, we go through a laundry list of Saints whose feast days were observed over the past week including Saint Rock and his dog (and saint in his own right) Saint Guinefort. Saint Rock is the patron saint of doctors and contagious diseases so he's a great patron for these troubled times as is Saint Mamas, patron Saint of nurses. We also learn about "Honey Sweet" Saint Bernard, Saint Stephen of Hungary, and Saint Helena, mother of Constantine, and the woman who discovered the location of the True Cross of the Crucifixion. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

14. 

    15 Aug 2021

    Ep. 04 - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Frances O'Toole

    On this very special episode, we learn about the assumption, body and soul, of The Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven and hear why she threw her holy girdle down to the ground on her way up. We speculate on where that sacred relic now resides and discuss how Saint Mary may have been much more than the nuns from catholic school would have led us to believe. We also feature an interview with a very special guest, and Saint in her own right, co-host Christian O'Toole's own blessed mother Frances O'Toole, and hear how the Virgin Mary may have miraculously appeared to her in the form of lightning after the death of her first-born son. We also learn how brave boy Saint Tarcisius died defending the eucharist when he was only 12 and how the tears of Saint Lawrence are connected to the Perseid meteor shower. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

15. 

    9 Aug 2021

    Ep. 03 - Santa Monica with Elizabeth Rodriguez

    In this week's episode, we are joined by Tony-nominated actress and Orange Is the New Black star Elizabeth Rodriguez to discuss her role as Saint Monica in the LAByrinth Theater Company's 2005 production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The play was written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and featured Sam Rockwell as Judas, Eric Bogosian as Satan, and Elizabeth as a powerful, Latina incarnation of Santa Monica who nags and nags and nags until she gets the job done. We dive deeper into the life of the real Saint Monica, through the writings of her son Saint Augustine, and learn how her tears brought Augustine around to the true faith and inspired the name of the town of Santa Monica, California. We also celebrate our Saint of the Day, St. Cyriacus, a patron invoked against demonic possession and a particular favorite of actor Robert Downey Jr. We also discuss how Cyriacus became one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, the original super saint team-up-squad, that would eventually be followed by supergroups like The Avengers and The Justice League. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

16. 

    1 Aug 2021

    Ep. 02 - Saint Augustine on Free Will vs. Determinism

    It would be difficult to overstate Augustine of Hippo’s role in shaping Catholic theology. In this episode, we explore Saint Augustine’s philosophical evolution from a belief in the predestination of the heretical Manichaean sect to his conversion to the True Faith of free will, swayed finally by his mother’s tears and the sermons of Saint Ambrose. Along the way, we discuss how this debate continues to this day in popular shows like Devs and Loki, and how quantum physics and the multiverse could explain why some people believe we can manifest our own destiny. Recorded on the feast day of John-Francis Regis, patron saint of illegitimate children, lace makers, and social workers, we also learn about the history of the Jesuit order and how their focus on education continues to this day at the prestigious New York City Catholic school, Regis, named for this famously popular preacher who was known for his "indelicate language, satire, and savage invective." Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

17. 

    18 Jul 2021

    Ep. 1 - The Greatest Saints of All Time with Father James Martin

    In this episode, Rosemary and Sean give their picks for the GOATS or Greatest Of All Time Saints. They also share the stories of some of their less-known personal favorites and Rosemary interviews special-guest Father James Martin, Jesuit priest and author of “My Life with the Saints,” about the real-life humanity of the saints and the miraculous sermons of baby saints Rumbold and Ambrose. We also learn how the cinematic life of the Irish poet-saint Columba led to a landmark copyright infringement case, how burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down can help you sell your house, how praying to St. Anne can literally save your life, and how modern-day bohemian Brooklynite Dorothy Day could be on her way to becoming a saint, despite having an abortion in her wild younger days as a hard-drinking riot girl in Greenwich Village. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

18. 

    13 Jul 2021

    Ep. 0 - An Introduction to the Catholic Saints

    Your name, your birthday, your nationality, your job, your hobby, each entitles you to the papally prescribed, perpetual, personal protection of a plethora of powerful patrons in paradise. Whatever your problem, a holy host of heavenly helpers is at hand. And you don't even have to be Catholic! In this pilot episode authors and experts, Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rogers explain where the saints come from, how they are officially canonized, and how they can help us in everyday life. We learn the truth about the real Saint Nicholas' broken nose, why Saint Brigid taught a fox to dance, how Saint Columbanus taught Europe to read, and why Tupac could be considered a modern-day saint. TB1c7MF3UGqQkUAq6cgs Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us (http://supporter.acast.com/saints-preserve-us). See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for privacy and opt-out information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.