Wildwood native Justin Catanoso, author of “My Cousin The Saint,” addresses the crowd at Woodland Village in Swainton May 25.

Wildwood native Justin Catanoso appeared at Woodland Village in Swainton on May 25 to give a talk and sign copies of his book, “My Cousin The Saint.”

Saint Gaetano Catanoso, his grandfather’s cousin—a poor parish priest that never left his native Italy—was elevated to sainthood by Pope Benedict XVI on October 23, 2005, after the church had thoroughly investigated his life, including reported miracles associated with the priest.

The book is a biographical exploration of Justin’s family as they deal with this most unusual of accolades, and of Justin’s personal search for, and acceptance of, the meaning of sainthood.

The author spoke for about 15 minutes, and then took questions. An enthusiastic audience listened as Justin spoke of how a simple 300-word article he had written for National Public Radio (NPR) after learning of his cousin’s elevation to sainthood blossomed into the book.

“About 20 million people listen to NPR,” he said, “so when they called afterward and told me that they thought there was a book in this, I couldn’t believe it.”

But the book is now out, and being well-received. It was especially well-received this past Sunday, as dozens of those who attended the talk lined up to get their copies of “My Cousin The Saint” autographed by the author.

Justin Catanoso now lives in North Carolina, where he is the executive editor at The Business Journal.