What is a saint? Many may think of the 'heroes of the early Church' like St Peter and Therese of Lisieux, but the list extends onwards through time to contemporary saints like Matt Talbot and Edel Quinn. So Great a Cloud tells the story of these saints, old and new, be they clergy, laity, scholars, high-profile or less known, all with one thing in common - their ability to challenge and encourage us. The book can also be seen as a history of the church in terms of outstanding Christians. The success stories of this 'communion of saints' remind us that the pilgrim church, despite its human failings, is essentially a way to God, a God that, historically and redemptively, remains 'one of us'.