From the stories of martyrdom to the austere lives of the saints, Antonio Rubial discovers the way in which hagiographies, discourses on holiness and their pictorial representations evolved over time, becoming increasingly spectacular in their quest to impact the devout public. Rubial exposes how power and politics intertwined their tentacles using the creation of portentous stories to sustain alliances between the State and the Church that would allow them to maintain control of consciences.
Making use of sharp reflections at the end of the sections, the author invites to recognize the way in which thanks to this rhetoric the values of Christian morality – suffering, obedience and humility – were linked to patriarchal subjection, relegated the female figure to the traditional places of mother or wife and justified the exercise of violence on the faithful as a valid and even necessary tool.
As we explore the complexities of religious narratives and their influence on society, we can see many of the dilemmas and challenges we face today. The sex of angels and saints not only sheds light on the past, it also offers a relevant perspective to understand our present.

Let us remove all the oropel from entertaining and morbid narratives and we will have the core values that our civilization have built and that remain part of our individual and social psyche. Many men and women in Europe and America continue to suffer and victimize themselves as martyrs and ascetics, loving like nuns to eternal life and believing in the patriarchal model of the sacred family with traditional roles.
—Antonio Rubial