Our sources & standards

Reverent, curious, and historically careful, and beautiful without overclaiming.

Saints by Mail is a small printed publication about the saints, made for readers, families, godchildren, teachers, and converts. Our aim is a saint story that is warm and readable and also honest about where it comes from.

How we classify what we print

Every key claim in an issue is classified, and you can see the classification on the last page of each issue:

Official Canonization, feast day, and other formal recognition by the Church.

Historical Dates, places, roles, writings, and major events supported by the historical record.

Devotional Patronage, symbols, and long-standing pious tradition: remembered and beloved, but tradition rather than documented fact.

Legendary Material that varies by source or developed later. We say so plainly.

How we write it

Where a story belongs to devotional tradition, we use careful wording, such as “tradition remembers,” “many pilgrims attributed,” “according to later accounts,” “the Church officially recognizes,” “sources differ.” We do not dress tradition up as certainty, and we do not treat the saints as mythology or pop-culture characters.

Images

We use original, licensed, or verified public-domain art only. We do not scrape institutional images or imitate living artists, and we do not fabricate archival documents.

Questions or corrections are welcome: hello@saintsbymail.com.