Fabiola or The Church of the Catacombs
Cardinal Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
Read by Maria Therese
This historical novel is set in Rome in the early 4th century AD, during the time of the cruel persecution of Christians under the Emperor Diocletian.
The heroine of the book is Fabiola, a young pagan beauty from a noble Roman family. Fabiola seems to have everything, including a superior education in the philosophers, yet under the surface, she is not content with her life. One day, in a fit of rage, she attacks and wounds her slave girl Syra, who is a secret Christian. The proud, spoiled Roman girl is humbled by Syra's humility, maturity and devotion to her in this situation, and a slow transformation begins.
Woven into this fictitious story are a number of martyrdom accounts of real-life Christian saints, including Saint Agnes, Saint Tarcisius and Saint Sebastian.
Cardinal Wiseman wrote Fabiola in part as an answer to the vigorously anti-Catholic book Hypatia by Charles Kingsley.
The novel was mainly aimed at the embattled Catholic minority in England, who had recently emerged from a half-illegal status. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia) (13 hr 29 min)
Chapters
00 - Preface | 9:02 | Read by Maria Therese |
01 - The Christian House | 8:07 | Read by Maria Therese |
02 - The Martyr's Boy | 10:40 | Read by Maria Therese |
03 - The Dedication | 10:20 | Read by Maria Therese |
04 - The Heathen Household | 17:00 | Read by Maria Therese |
05 - The Visit | 9:25 | Read by Maria Therese |
06 - The Banquet | 13:38 | Read by Maria Therese |
07 - Poor and Rich | 18:20 | Read by Maria Therese |
08 - The First Day's Conclusion | 9:12 | Read by Maria Therese |
09 - Meetings | 22:11 | Read by Maria Therese |
10 - Other Meetings | 21:15 | Read by Maria Therese |
11 - A Talk With the Reader | 12:21 | Read by Maria Therese |
12 - The Wolf and the Fox | 8:31 | Read by Maria Therese |
13 - Charity | 6:28 | Read by Maria Therese |
14 - Extremes Meet | 17:07 | Read by Maria Therese |
15 - Charity Returns | 5:04 | Read by Maria Therese |
16 - The Month of October | 26:26 | Read by Maria Therese |
17 - The Christian Community | 22:22 | Read by Maria Therese |
18 - Temptation | 9:50 | Read by Maria Therese |
19 - The Fall | 21:56 | Read by Maria Therese |
20 - Diogenes | 17:30 | Read by Maria Therese |
21 - The Cemeteries | 16:36 | Read by Maria Therese |
22 - What Diogenes Could Not Tell About the Catacombs | 12:44 | Read by Maria Therese |
23 - What Diogenes Did Tell About the Catacombs | 13:35 | Read by Maria Therese |
24 - Above Ground | 7:21 | Read by Maria Therese |
25 - Deliberations | 14:35 | Read by Maria Therese |
26 - Dark Death | 9:04 | Read by Maria Therese |
27 - Darker Still | 9:05 | Read by Maria Therese |
28 - The False Brother | 5:47 | Read by Maria Therese |
29 - The Ordination in December | 13:12 | Read by Maria Therese |
30 - The Virgins | 13:02 | Read by Maria Therese |
31 - The Nomentan Villa | 9:52 | Read by Maria Therese |
32 - The Edict | 14:32 | Read by Maria Therese |
33 - The Discovery | 7:34 | Read by Maria Therese |
34 - Explanation | 8:55 | Read by Maria Therese |
35 - The Wolf in the Fold | 20:58 | Read by Maria Therese |
36 - The First Flower | 16:54 | Read by Maria Therese |
37 - Retribution | 19:50 | Read by Maria Therese |
38 - Twofold Revenge | 15:57 | Read by Maria Therese |
39 - The Public Works | 10:01 | Read by Maria Therese |
40 - The Prison | 10:33 | Read by Maria Therese |
41 - The Viaticum | 22:25 | Read by Maria Therese |
42 - The Fight | 16:25 | Read by Maria Therese |
43 - The Christian Soldier | 10:22 | Read by Maria Therese |
44 - The Rescue | 17:59 | Read by Maria Therese |
45 - The Revival | 11:40 | Read by Maria Therese |
46 - The Second Crown | 11:02 | Read by Maria Therese |
47 - The Critical Day: Its First Part | 16:07 | Read by Maria Therese |
48 - The Same Day: Its Second Part | 23:57 | Read by Maria Therese |
49 - The Same Day: Its Third Part | 30:16 | Read by Maria Therese |
50 - Dionysius: Priest and Physician | 9:33 | Read by Maria Therese |
51 - The Sacrifice Accepted | 18:38 | Read by Maria Therese |
52 - Miriam's History | 15:49 | Read by Maria Therese |
53 - Bright Death | 18:09 | Read by Maria Therese |
54 - The Stranger From the East | 10:48 | Read by Maria Therese |
55 - The Stranger From Rome | 9:33 | Read by Maria Therese |
56 - And Last | 19:51 | Read by Maria Therese |
Reviews
excellent
Bruce G
Thank you for reading this book, I enjoyed and learned from it. Bruce G
#Godlives
Great book will inspire you to be brave even in the face of death
Ann Marie
It was truly inspirational. I liked it very much.