I hope you can join me on “Vatican Insider” on what seems to be another scorching weekend in much of the northern hemisphere but don’t worry, just relax a bit, sip a cool drink and enjoy the news segment and then my special guest in the interview segment, Jesuit Fr. Michael Maher. A native of Milwaukee, he is an expert on the Belgium-based Société des Bollandistes, the Society of Bollandists who, as their website explains, “For almost four centuries … have been at the forefront of hagiographic research, that is, preparing biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders.”

We learn that the Society of Bollandists “is a unique institution renowned for its comprehensive and specialised library, with many ancient and rare works and manuscripts among its 500,000 volumes. Saints are inspirational, though some may belong more to the realm of folklore or even invention. For twenty centuries they have been influencing our world, our culture and our thinking in ways few people realise.”

Father Maher talks about that work, about how to separate fact from legend in a saint’s life, the need for scholars to know ancient languages for this work, and what we can learn about societies from reading the lives of the saints. A riveting conversation about a unique institution! He’ll be back next week for Part II of our conversation.