Just as my husband, my 7-year-old, and I were getting in the car to head to a soccer jamboree about 30 minutes away, a friend texted a link to the Saints Alive podcast and recommended we listen to the story about St. Thomas More, whose feast day was that day. Just shy of 24 minutes, the story of St. Thomas More made the ride fly by and now we’re hooked on Saints Alive.
We have listened to several Saints Alive podcasts since that day and have become enamoured with the vibrant storytelling as each podcast highlights a different saint. I especially love that the stories appeal to all ages and that they are something to listen to as opposed to something to watch. I was so impressed with the St. Thomas More story that I contacted Melissa Dee, who (along with her husband, Alex, and their production team) really does make these saints come alive.
Alex, and his friend Tanner Kalina, were actors in Hollywood and dreamt for years of combining their talents with their Catholic faith. Saints Alive is the fulfillment of that dream and is a testament to how the dramatic arts can serve the Church.
Melissa and Alex, parents of two young children, work full-time to produce Saints Alive. Based in Vermont, the couple co-founded the podcast in July 2021 and view it as a ministry. “What started as a passion project has become a podcast in the top 0.5 per cent worldwide and our full-time jobs!” Melissa said. “We are so grateful.”
As a Catholic parent for the past 21 years, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of exposing children to the lives of the saints. I don’t think I read a saint story until my teens, and other than the usual suspects (St. Joseph, St. Patrick, and St. Nicholas) I had no real comprehension of what a saint really was. I certainly had no idea that I, and all other Catholics, were called to be saints. If we are called to be saints—if our children are called to be saints—we all need to know what that means.
All Catholics, especially families, need detailed examples of those who have lived before us whom the Church now calls saints. No two saint stories are exactly alike, which is why everyone can benefit from them; there is bound to be some aspect in the lives of these holy men, women, and children with which we can identify.
“It is truly such an honour to be able to tell the stories of these incredible saints,” said Melissa. “Our hope is to inspire listeners to strive for sainthood. Every week we receive messages from our listeners telling us how much the stories have moved their hearts to Christ and how they’ve grown closer to the saints through our podcast.”
The team likes to “follow the liturgical calendar and create an episode surrounding the saint’s feast day.”
How do they pick from the myriad of saint stories out there? “It’s so difficult to choose which saint—but this is where we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and he always does!” she said. “Creating an episode takes about six months in totality: hundreds and hundreds of hours between research, writing, recording, and finally editing it all together! We have an incredible team that works to create the episodes and about 25 voice actors from all over the world that lend their voices.”
There are currently 32 episodes available on the podcast website with more in the works. Melissa is particularly excited about the upcoming September episode on Venerable Fr. Patrick Peyton, the priest who is famous for the phrase: “the family that prays together stays together.” If your family is wondering where to start now, there are two stories that profile saints whose feast days are in August: St. Clare (Aug. 11) and St. Maximilian Kolbe (Aug. 14).
Saints Alive is partnered with and funded by the Hallow App. If you are a user of the Hallow App, you can access podcast episodes and other exclusive Saints Alive content.
Why delay another minute on your family’s journey through the lives of the saints? All you have to do is a choose a saint story for your next car ride, or whenever your family is hanging out together, press play, and enjoy.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, six children, and her mom. She can be reached at [email protected].
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