Among the sixteen books written by the gifted Capuchin priest Ignacio Larran aga (1928-2013), The Silence of Mary is the best sold, printed in forty editions and twelve languages. The personality and history of the mother of Jesus has been reconstructed by means of a penetrating analysis based solidly on the canonical Scriptures without appealing to traditions or apocryphal writings. Although Catholic in its orthodoxy, Larran aga's description is valid for Christians of all denominations, which makes this book a sound basis for ecumenical dialog.

Born and ordained a priest in Spain,...