If there was ever an angel on Earth, I’m holding him.” so speaks Bridie, the author’s mother when she regards her son in his cassock about to serve at Midnight Mass. “Bejesus” cries the neighbor, “he looks like Jesus himself.” Not so holy however, Sean has landed in his altar boy robes for less than sacred reasons: He wants the perks- time off from school, free food at the hospital buffet, tips at funerals, and best of all – the all day fun of The Altar Boy Picnic.

How he crashes headlong into disaster with cruel nuns and ancient priests (“Father Dufficy seemed 100 years old, 120 pounds…they kept a bed for him, just in case”)…makes for an irreverent yet heartwarming true story of a Catholic boyhood in Chicago. When Sean Brennan swings his incense chalice, watch out! Yet somehow, he hits the true spirit of family love. The Altar Boy makes a perfect Christmas present.