Gasper was born in Rome on January 6, 1786. When he was a young priest he was put in prison for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to Napoleon. He learned to deal with his feelings of anger by thinking about the sufferings of Jesus. He saw his trials in life as Stepping Stones to Heaven.

Level 2 books are about 90-96 pages each and are written for about a fourth grade reading level or higher, although some third graders are able to read them as well because of the large print size and double spacing between lines. This series has books about well-known saints, but it also includes stories about saints and other Catholics that you don't hear about very often.