Sunday, January 18, 2026

The Greatest Figures of the Romantic Age


After reading the excellent 1966 book The Mind of the European Romantics by H.D. Schenk, on the key role of Christianity and especially Catholicism in the life and achievement of the greatest figures of the 19th century Romantic movement in literature and the arts I was left with the question, who were the greatest figures of that movement which can be held up as models to be studied and imitated today?

The answer, of course, as in any age, is, the Saints!, the canonized Saints and declared Doctors of the Church from that period and within that movement of human culture.

Here is my spontaneous short-list, on which I might enlarge in the future.

Saint John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church, particularly for his thought on the historical development of Christian/Catholic doctrine.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church.

Saint John Bosco

Saint Anthony Mary Claret 

Saint John Marie Vianney

Saint Catherine Laboure

Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Our Lady of Lourdes

Blessed Pope Pius IX

And, I would also add another great Pontiff of that age: Pope Leo XIII Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferrett

The great Catalan poet, Father Jacinto Verdaguer

And, of course, the great, also Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi 

Here is a list (Wikipedia) of all of the Saints and Blesseds of the 19th Century, the age of romanticism, a tremendous age of holiness!

Chronological list of saints and blesseds in the 19th century
 
Alphabetical List 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Posted by plinthos at 9:24 AM
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