Every century of Christian history has had its saints, regarded as holy men and women by their fellow believers, and held up as models by religious authority. But ideas of holiness are continually evolving: the saints of one generation may seem quite unsaintly to another generation. And if saints are exceptional individuals, more numerous are those who have been seen or have been presented as models of what it means to be a Christian within a particular profession. Here too perceptions may change radically as the status of particular professions in Christian thinking changes.

While many important books have been written on the Christian saints of earlier centuries, very little attempt has so far been made to explore twentieth-century concepts of sanctity, and the role models presented to or adopted by Christians in that century. In view of the paucity of relevant secondary sources, this chapter is a preliminary exploration of the theme, and it is limited to notions of sanctity and role models recognised in the Western world.