I am so impressed that the Daughters published this book before Pierre Toussaint was even declared Venerable, and that they encouraged a hagiography that respects and celebrates his Blackness. This wasn’t a small thing in 1981 (or 1998), but the way things are in the Catholic Church in the U.S. right now, it would honestly be even harder to publish this book in 2021.

Tarry put it well when she said that people have been writing about Pierre as if he were “a saintly white man with a black face,” rather than the truth of a Black Saint! I also loved the reflection from Jaime Vidal at the end of the book: Pierre’s virtue did not flatter white elites, but humbled them by highlighting how artificial their ideas about race were. His no-exceptions Christian virtue shines a light on all the exceptions others were making. He was just plain charitable in a world ready with a thousand excuses not to be.

I will say, I didn't love the novelized/imaginative style of the book, though Tarry's research is phenomenal. It's just not my thing. But don't let that stop you from learning about this wonderful saint!!