Amazing Story of How the Works of St. John of the Cross Survived the Revolution in Spain

Who would have thought that a South African poet who studied in England where he befriended Tolkien, Lewis, and Eliot, lived in Provence, moved to Toledo where he and his family were baptized into the Church, would be called upon by the Carmelites to protect the writings of Saint John of the Cross from anti-clerical revolutionaries. When he and his family escaped the hands of the republican murderers he fulfilled a promise he made to the saint to translate his writing into English.

Meghan Ferrara, Aleteia: It may seem improbable to consider that St. John of the Cross, the Spanish Civil War, and JRR Tolkien have anything in common. However, all three share one important connection: the South African poet Roy Campbell, and therein lies a tale of intrigue, bravery and faith.

This remarkable narrative is set against the upheaval of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930’s. Full article is here.