One day, we will pass away and pass beyond this world. ‘The Art of Dying Well’ gives an outline of how to live life well, so that one can die well, and have confidence before the judgment seat of God. This meditation on mortality contains many practical lessons “on the most important of all arts.” It is a timeless classic of the Catholic world, available to all. The advice St. Bellarmine gives rings as true now as it did 400 years ago. St. Robert Bellarmine (1542 – 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. A professor of theology, he later became the rector of the Roman College. In 1602, he became Archbishop of Capua, in southern Italy. Canonised a saint in 1930, St. Robert Bellarmine became named a Doctor of the Church. “From these testimonies, therefore, of Holy Writ it is quite evident, that death possesses an advantage in freeing us from the miseries of this life. But it also hath a still more excellent advantage, because it may become the gate from a prison to a Kingdom.” (Page 3) “But the general rule, ‘that he who lives well, will die well,’ must be mentioned before all others: for since death is nothing more than the end of life, it is certain that all who live well to the end, die well; nor can he die ill, who hath never lived ill; as, on the other hand, he who hath never led a good life, cannot die a good death.” (Page 4) This translation from the original Latin dates from 1847, completed by Father John Dalton, a Catholic priest. ‘The Art of Dying Well’ includes only Volume I, which gives authoritative rules of action on how to live well while healthy.