Historia de un alma

Fr. John Clarke, O.C.D. (1917–2003), was an American Discalced Carmelite friar and one of the most important translators of Carmelite spirituality into English. Working from the original manuscripts, he produced the definitive English translations of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s writings for ICS Publications — including her autobiography Story of a Soul, her Letters, and Her Last Conversations — renderings prized for their fidelity to the Little Flower’s own voice.

It is his celebrated translation of Story of a Soul that accompanies Ascension’s Catholic Classics edition of the book, which was also read and unpacked episode by episode in season three of Ascension’s Catholic Classics podcast with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, and Fr. Michael-Joseph Paris, OCD.

Fr. Jacob-Bertrand Janczyk, O.P. is a Dominican friar of the Province of Saint Joseph, which ministers in the Dominican tradition to the Northeastern portion of the United States, and is also the pastor of St. Denis Catholic Church in Hanover, NH.

After graduating from Marist College with a degree in biomedical science, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand joined the novitiate for the Dominicans and was ordained as a priest in the Dominican Order in 2017. From there, he went on to work with college students at Dartmouth College, serving as assistant chaplain and then as director of vocations for the Province of Saint Joseph from 2018-2022. Today, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand is the pastor of St. Denis Catholic Church in Hanover, New Hampshire.

In addition to co-hosting Ascension’s new podcast, Catholic Classics, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand is also a host of the popular Dominican podcast, Godsplaining.

When he’s not serving his parish or recording podcast episodes, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand can be found catching up on novels, biking, and enjoying time with family and friends.

Anne-Elisabeth Giuliani is the Archdiocesan Delegate for Consecrated Life for the Archdiocese of Washington and a consecrated member of Notre-Dame de Vie, a secular institute rooted in Carmelite spirituality. She contributed introductions and expert commentary to Ascension’s edition of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul.