In this episode of Author to Author, Dr. Cynthia Toolin-Wilson interviews Br. Carmel Duca, MC, on his book Redeemed by Beauty: The Life of Brother Andrew (February 22, 2023)

Redeemed by Beauty is, in Brother Andrew’s own words, the story of “an unfaithful man used by God.” It is the biography of Ian Travers-Ball who felt called to share his life with the poor. After joining the Jesuit order, as an ordained priest in India, he moved on to co-found – together with Mother Teresa of Calcutta – the Missionaries of Charity Brothers.

This book follows Andrew on this path from gambler to troubadour to sannyasi. It is the human struggle for wholeness and holiness through helplessness, powerlessness, fragility and woundedness. Andrew’s hallmark and uniqueness would be his closeness to and identification with the hidden and suffering people. It is the inner journey of a soul in need of redemption. Together with God, Our Lady and the Church, the poor were the main agents of grace in Brother Andrew’s life. Andrew – always the mystic – could experience beauty amidst the suffering and the misery of the poor, and in the ordinariness of his own life.

Redeemed by Beauty: The Life of Brother Andrew by Carmel Duca | En Route Books and Media