The searing stories of three children who died too young — and who nevertheless clung to their Catholic faith in their short time on earth — are told in a new book due out shortly.

The book’s author, Austin Ruse, discussed the storyline of “Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point Us to Christ” with LifeZette and said the book is “the story of three very holy, little children who suffered greatly and offered their suffering for others. They brought people to Christ and the church.”

The children he profiled in the book all came from influential families: two in Northern Virginia, one outside of Paris. “These kids experienced chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants and sang songs to Mary while they were having them,” Ruse said. “They also teach us how to bear our suffering well.”

The two children who grew up in Virginia faced incredible challenges: Brendan Kelly, who had Down syndrome, died as a teenager; he had also lived with leukemia since childhood. Margaret Leo suffered from spina bifida and was in a wheelchair; she died at age 14 of complications from her spinal condition.

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“I personally think they were messengers to the spiritual desert of the world of influentials in Washington, D.C., and the other power centers,” Ruse said. “Because what these children went through was horrific, but they went through their suffering heroically — bringing joy and happiness to other people’s lives.”

Audrey Stevenson of France died at the age of seven from leukemia. She came from a family that was “‘every other Sunday’ Catholics at best. They weren’t really practicing,” Ruse said.

Young Stevenson helped bring faith back into the family when she was just three years old; now her family is very influential in the Catholic Church.

“I was inspired by everything I was hearing about these kids,” Ruse said.

While these children suffered much at a young age, they profoundly impacted many other people.

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“Sometimes a happy ending is that you go see Jesus. The happy ending of each of these stories, as heartbreaking as they are, are really, truly happy endings,” Ruse said. “I think people are hungry for inspirational stories with happy endings.”

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Ruse is president of a pro-life research institute with offices in both New York and Washington, D.C., called the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam); it works on international life and family issues. Ruse’s book comes out March 30.

“Look at the society around us, and you can get a little bit depressed,” said Ruse. “These stories show people that we live in a time of great saints, even if there seems to be so few of us fighting against the dominant, negative ethos of our age.”

“No lives are worthless,” the author added. “Every life, no matter how limited, can have a profound affect on the people all around us.”