François-Xavier Gautrelet was a French Jesuit priest whose legacy survives as being the inspiration and originator of the Apostleship of Prayer in 1844. In this volume he gives an extensive spritual and practical guide to nurses and others who minister to the sick and dying. The translator, John Mason Neale, was a British Anglican who served as warden ot Sackville College, an almshouse at East Grinstead for many years. In 1854 he co-founded the Society of Saint Margaret, an order of women in the Church of England dedicated to nursing the sick. He is best known to the world, however, as the author and translator of many hymns including “O come, O come, Emmanuel.” - Summary by Larry Wilson