The American Jesuits : a history by
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008 With infectious energy and a genuine gift for storytelling, Raymond A. Schroth recounts the history of Jesuits in the United States. The American Jesuits isn’t simply a book for Catholics; it’s for anyone who loves a well-told historical tale. For more than 450 years, Jesuit priests have traveled the globe out of a religious commitment to serve others. Their order, the Society of Jesus, is the largest religious order of men in the Catholic Church, with more than 20,000 members around the world and almost 3,000 in the United States. It is one of the more liberal orders in the Church, taking very public stands in the U.S. on behalf of social justice causes such as the promotion of immigrants’ rights and humanitarian aid, including assistance to Africa’s poor, and against American involvement in “unjust wars.” Jesuits have played an important part in Americanizing the Catholic Church and in preparing Catholic immigrants for inclusion into American society. Starting off with the first Jesuit to reach the New World—he was promptly murdered on the Florida coast—Schroth focuses on the key periods of the Jesuit experience in the Americas, beginning with the era of European explorers, many of whom were accompanied by Jesuits and some of whom were Jesuits themselves. Suppressed around the time of the American Revolution, the Society experienced resurgence in the nineteenth century, arriving in the U.S. along with waves of Catholic immigrants and establishing a network of high schools and universities. In the mid-twentieth century, the Society transformed itself to serve an urbanizing nation. Schroth is not blind to the Society’s shortcomings and not all of his story reflects well on the Jesuits. However, as he reminds readers, Jesuits are not gods and they don’t dwell in mountaintop monasteries. Rather, they are imperfect men who work in a messy world to “find God in all things” and to help their fellow men and women do the same. A quintessential American tale of men willing to take risks — for Indians, blacks, immigrants, and the poor, and to promote a loving picture of God—The American Jesuits offers a broad and compelling look at the impact of this 400-year-old international order on American culture and the culture’s impact on the Jesuits.
American Saint: the life of Elizabeth Seton by
In this riveting biography of Elizabeth Seton critically acclaimed and bestselling author Joan Barthel tells the mesmerizing story of a woman whose life featured wealth and poverty, passion and sorrow, love and loss. Elizabeth was born into a prominent New York City family in 1774. Her father was the chief health officer for the Port of New York and she lived down the block from Alexander Hamilton. She danced at George Washington's sixty-fifth Birthday Ball wearing cream slippers, monogrammed. Catholicism was illegal in New York when she was born; Catholic priests seen in the city were arrested, sometimes hung. When Elizabeth and her wealthy husband Will sailed to Italy in a doomed attempt to cure his tuberculosis, she and her family were quarantined in a damp dungeon. And when Elizabeth later became a Catholic, she was so scorned that people talked of burning down her house.American Saint is the inspiring story of a brave woman who forged the way for the other women who followed and who made a name for herself in a world entirely ruled by men. Elizabeth resisted male clerical control of her religious order, as nuns are doing today, and the publication of her story could not be more timely. Maya Angelou has contributed the foreword.
Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century: a comprehensive world history by
A comprehensive history of 20th century martyrs. The book traces the specific situation of each area and time when martyrdom occured, and studies the political systems and the reasons for confrontation. A collection of biographies is woven into the text.
The Death and Afterlife of the North American Martyrs by 
Many Tongues, One Faith: a history of Franciscan parish life in the United States by
The history of Franciscan parishes in the United States mirrors the social, religious and cultural shifts brought about by repeated waves of immigrants to the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This study offers a glimpse into the struggles of Franciscan priests, sisters, and laity attempting to live out their faith amidst the challenges of the time: religious bigotry, racial and ethnic strife, and cultural and religious challenges. The Franciscan experience provides an important element in the tapestry of the American experience. Readers of this work will learn about the Franciscan priest who persuaded his fellow Polish immigrants to engage in an ill-fated settlement experiment in Texas. They will learn about Franciscan efforts to evangelize Native Americans, the Menominee at Keshena, Wisconsin, utilizing catechetical material in the natives' language. Readers will become acquainted with one of the first Italian churches in New York City, St. Anthony of Padua, where a multiethnic parish gave rise to disputes over leadership in the community. In Los Angeles, the parish of St. Lawrence of Brindisi is highlighted, providing an exploration of ministry to an impoverished community located near the epicenter of the 1965 Watts riots. And readers will be transported to the serene setting of ruralnorthern Ohio where a Marian shrine has been the site of dozens ofclaimed miraculous healings. While the portraits of fourteen Franciscan parishes contained in this work are diverse--geographically, ethnically, and chronologically--they collectively witness to the distinctiveness of the Franciscan charism of embracing poverty, fostering community, offering reconciliation, and serving those on society's margins. Their story is part of the American story.
Men Astutely Trained: a history of the Jesuits in the American century by
Drawing on archive material, interviews and first-hand observation, McDonough traces the history of the Jesuits through the social changes of the 20th century in America.
Mohawk Saint : Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits by
Catherine/Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) has become known over the centuries as a holy Catholic convert. She is revered as the first Native North American proposed for sainthood. This book presents her story along with Claude Chauchetiere, a French Jesuit, who came to America hoping to rescue savages from sin and paganism.
Passionate Uncertainty: inside the American Jesuits by
Founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus remains the largest and most controversial religious order of men in Catholicism. Since the 1960s, however, Jesuits in the United States have lost more than half of their members, and they have experienced a massive upheaval in what they believe and how they work and live. In this groundbreaking book, Peter McDonough and Eugene C. Bianchi draw on interviews and statements gathered from more than four hundred Jesuits and former Jesuits to provide an intimate look at turmoil among Catholicism's legendary best-and-brightest. Priests and former priests speak candidly about their reasons for joining (and leaving) the Jesuits, about their sexual development and orientation, about their spiritual crises and their engagement with other religious traditions. They discuss issues ranging from celibacy to the ordination of women, homosexuality, the rationale of the priesthood, the challenges of community life, and the divinity of Jesus."Passionate Uncertainty "traces the transformation of the Society of Jesus from a fairly unified organization into a smaller, looser community with disparate goals and an elusive corporate identity. From its role as a traditional subculture during the days of immigrant Catholicism, the order has changed into an amalgam of countercultures shaped around social mission, sexual identity, and an eclectic spirituality. The story of the Jesuits reflects the crisis of clerical authority and the deep ambivalence surrounding American Catholicism's encounter with modernity.
American Catholic Preaching and Piety in the Time of John Carroll by
This work is the second volume in the Melville Studies in Church History. Kupke focuses on the piety of the Catholics in the Anglo-American colonies in the eighteenth century, specifically around the time of John Carroll, the founder of the American Catholic hierarchy. Through the exploration of sermons of eighteenth century Jesuit missionaries in Maryland, the author analyzes the spirituality of the Catholics in this time period. Kupke's work is a valuable and interesting contribution to the study of the roots of the Catholic church in America. A must read for all those interested in American preaching, spirituality, Jesuit history, and Maryland colonial history as well. Co-published with the Department of Church History at the Catholic University of America.
The John Carroll Papers by 
John Ireland and the American Catholic Church by
John Ireland (1838-1918), first archbishop of St. Paul, believed that the United States offered a new and tremendously favorable opportunity for Roman Catholics and their church. By vigorously and single-mindedly urging his fellow Catholic immigrants to take their place in the mainstream of American life, he played a major role in the growth of the American Catholic church. Marvin R. O'Connell's masterful biography brings to life the experiences that shaped Ireland's views and describes the battles that marked his career. In smooth and flowing prose, with rich detail and enlightening analysis, O'Connell traces Ireland's life, from his boyhood to his years as a powerful player in Vatican politics and an advisor to American presidents. Ireland was one of the important and characteristic figures of the American Gilded Age, a man whose own rags-to-riches story followed classic lines. Born in Ireland in 1838, he saw as a boy the horrors of the Great Famine. In 1852 he and his family emigrated to St. Paul, Minnesota. Sent by pioneer Bishop Joseph Cretin to France for his education, Ireland became a priest in 1861. His work for temperance and Catholic colonization on Minnesota's western frontier gave him national prominence and launched him on a long and impressive career. Ireland was an Americanist, one of a group of Catholic leaders who promoted the ideal of a truly American church. O'Connell's accounts of Ireland's hard-fought and often acrimonious battles present a lively portrait of a complicated man, with impressive strengths and surprising weaknesses. Ireland struggled to convince the Vatican that the American church was more than a collection of immigrant churches; he argued to his fellow clerics that immigrants could abandon Old World customs and languages without losing their faith; he encouraged Catholics to take advantage of the opportunities offered in America; and he strove to demonstrate to Protestant Americans that Catholics were not hopelessly foreign. O'Connell also tells little-known stories of the archbishop's personal politics and finances. Ireland became wealthy through land speculation, but nearly lost all in the Panic of 1893. As a prominent and out-spoken Republican, he associated with William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft. Though John Ireland was denied the ultimate accolade of a cardinal's hat, and though his colleagues on the episcopal bench were by no means unanimous in supporting him, his influence upon the development of American Catholicism was enormous. This forthright biography is a fascinating account of an important man.
John Paul II: a light for the world : essays and reflections on the papacy of John Paul II by
When Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope on October 16, 1978, he became the first Slavic Pope in history and the first non-Italian in 455 years. Taking the name John Paul II, the new Pope delivered a message in his first homily in St. Peter's Square that has resounded throughout his entire papacy: "Be not afraid " Created for the occasion of his twenty-fifth anniversary as Pope, John Paul II: A Light for the World provides a celebration in photographs and words of the courageous pastor who guides more than one billion Catholics and has made his mark on history the world over. Elegantly designed and produced, John Paul II: A Light for the World features over 140 photographs many of which seldom have been seen outside the Vatican by official Vatican photographers who have captured the Pope's remarkable life and ministry for two and a half decades. These beautiful photographs are accompanied by selections from the Pope's own speeches and writings as well as essays and personal reflections by scholars and friends that provide insight into the public and private person of Pope John Paul II. Organized into three sections Pastor, Pilgrim, Prophet more than forty essays by staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explore the depth and breadth of the themes central to John Paul's papacy, while nearly thirty personal reflections by cardinals, bishops, and others who have had personal encounters with the Pope reveal his profoundly human, and often humorous, side. A joint effort between the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Communications Campaign and Sheed & Ward, John Paul II: A Light for the World is the definitive commemoration of John Paul II's twenty-fifth anniversary as Pope. The book opens with a personal greeting from Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State; a foreword by Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations; an introduction by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the USCCB; and a historical sketch by John Thavis, Rom"
Journey to the Sun: Junípero Serra's dream and the founding of California by
The fascinating narrative of the remarkable life of Junpero Serra, the intrepid priest who led Spain and the Catholic Church into California in the 1700s and became a key figure in the making of the American West. The fascinating narrative of the remarkable life of Junpero Serra, the intrepid priest who led Spain and the Catholic Church into California in the 1700s and became a key figure in the making of the American West In the year 1749, at the age of thirty-six, Junpero Serra left his position as a highly regarded priest in Spain for the turbulent and dangerous New World, knowing he would never return. The Spanish Crown and the Catholic Church both sought expansion in Mexico--the former in search of gold, the latter seeking souls--as well as entry into the mysterious land to the north called "California." Serra's mission: to spread Christianity in this unknown world by building churches wherever possible and by converting the native peoples to the Word of God. It was an undertaking that seemed impossible, given the vast distances, the challenges of the unforgiving landscape, and the danger posed by resistant native tribes. Such a journey would require bottomless physical stamina, indomitable psychic strength, and, above all, the deepest faith. Serra, a diminutive man with a stout heart, possessed all of these attributes, as well as an innate humility that allowed him to see the humanity in native people whom the West viewed as savages. By his death at age seventy-one, Serra had traveled more than 14,000 miles on land and sea through the New World--much of that distance on a chronically infected and painful foot--baptized and confirmed 6,000 Indians, and founded nine of California's twenty-one missions, with his followers establishing the rest. The names of these missions ring through the history of California-- San Diego, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, and San Francisco--and served as the epicenters of the arrival of Western civilization, where millions more would follow, creating the California we know today. An impoverished son, an inspired priest, and a potent political force, Serra was a complex man who stood at the historic crossroads between Native Americans, the often brutal Spanish soldiers, and the dictates of the Catholic Church, which still practiced punishment by flogging. In this uncertain, violent atmosphere, Serra sought to protect the indigenous peoples from abuse and to bring them the rituals and spiritual comfort of the Church even as the microbes carried by Europeans threatened their existence. Beginning with Serra's boyhood on the isolated island of Mallorca, venturing into the final days of the Spanish Inquisition, revealing the thriving grandeur of Mexico City, and finally journeying up the untouched California coast, Gregory Orfalea's magisterial biography is a rich epic that cuts new ground in our understanding of the origins of the United States. Combining biography, European history, knowledge of Catholic doctrine, and anthropology, Journey to the Sun brings original research and perspective to America's creation story. Orfalea's poetic and incisive recounting of Serra's life shows how one man changed the future of California and in so doing affected the future of our nation.
Pope John Paul II, "building up the body of Christ" : pastoral visit to the United States by 
The Pope Speaks to the American Church: John Paul II's homilies, speeches, and letters to Catholics in the United States by 
American Cicero : the life of Charles Carroll by
Before his death in 1832, Charles Carroll of Carrollton - the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence - was widely regarded as one of the most important founders. This is his biography.
A Catholic in the White House? by
According to most political and religious scholars and pundits, JFK's victory in 1960 symbolized America's evolution from a Protestant nation to a pluralist community that included Catholics as all citizens. However, if the presidential election of 1960 was indeed a turning point for American Catholics, how do we explain the failure of any Catholic - in over forty years - to repeat Kennedy's accomplishment? In this exhaustively researched study that fuses political, cultural, social and intellectual history, Thomas Carty challenges the assumption that JFK's successful campaign for the Presidency ended decades, if not centuries, of religious and political tension between American Catholics and Protestants, paving a new role for Catholics in American presidential politics.
Dorothy Day by
Dorothy Day has been described as the most significant, interesting, and influential person in the history of American Catholicism." Outside The Catholic Worker (which she edited from 1933 to her death), Day wrote for no other publication so often and over such an extended period - covering six decades - as the independent Catholic journal of opinion, Commonweal. Gathered here for the first time are Day's complete Commonweal pieces, including articles, reviews, and published letters-to-the-editor. They range from the personal to the polemical; from youthful enthusiasm to the gratitude of an aged warrior; sketches from works in progress; portraits of prisoners and dissidents; and a gifted reporter's dispatches from the flash points of mid-twentieth-century social and economic conflict. Day's writing offers readers not only an overview of her fascinating life but a compendium of her prophetic insights, spiritual depth, and unforgettable prose. Chapters are *The Brother and the Rooster, - *Guadalupe, - *Letter From Mexico City, - *Spring Festival in Mexico, - *Bed, - *Now We Are Home Again, - *Notes From Florida, - *East Twelfth Street, - *Review: Saint Elizabeth by Elizabeth von Schmidt-Pali, - *Real Revolutionists, - *Review: The Catholic Anthology by Thomas Walsh, - *For the Truly Poor, - *Saint John of the Cross, - *Houses of Hospitality, - *The House on Mott Street, - *Tale of Two Capitals, - *Letter: 'In the Name of the Staff,'- *King, Ramsey and Connor, - *It Was a Good Dinner, - *About Mary, - *Tobacco Road, - *Review: In the Steps of Moses by Louis Golding, - *Review: Our Lady of the Birds by Louis J.A. Mercier, - *Peter and Women, - *Letter: 'Things Worth Fighting For?'- *The Scandal of the Works of Mercy, - *Traveling by Bus, - *Letter: 'Blood, Sweat and Tears,'- *The Story of Steve Hergenhan, - *Priest of the Immediate, - *We Plead Guilty, - *Letter: 'From Dorothy Day,'- *Pilgrimage to Mexico, - *In Memory of Ed Willock, - *Southern Pilgrimage, - *A.J., - *On Hope, - and *A Reminiscence at 75. - Patrick Jordan, managing editor of Commonweal, is a former managing editor of The Catholic Worker. He resides in Staten Island, New York. "
Dorothy Day and the Church by
From the introduction by Lance Richey: "The University of Saint Francis and Our Sunday Visitor sponsored the conference 'Dorothy Day and the Church: Past, Present and Future' in Fort Wayne on May 13-15, 2015. In planning it, we kept in mind (not without some trepidation) Dorothy's own complaint on academic conferences in her April 1966 On Pilgrimage column: 'That is the trouble with such conferences. There are too many workshops, too many meetings, so many speakers, making the sessions too long.' The enthusiastic response we received to our announcement threatened to make her warning only too prescient. More than 120 attendees, scholars and workers, gathered together to celebrate both her remarkable life and enduring legacy for the Church. This volume gathers together most of the papers and homilies given at this conference, offering a breadth and depth of material which will benefit both casual and scholarly readers, and both students and practitioners of her experiment in gospel living."
Duty of Delight: the diaries of Dorothy Day by
Day (1897-1980) began her diaries in 1934, shortly after co-founding the Catholic Worker movement, and kept them up until shortly before she died. Ellsberg, who has worked for the Catholic Workers and edited Day's writing, was invited to edit them as soon as they were unsealed, as per her wishes, in November 2005. Annotation (r)2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Long Loneliness by
This inspiring and fascinating memoir, subtitled, “The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist,” The Long Loneliness is the late Dorothy Day’s compelling autobiographical testament to her life of social activism and her spiritual pilgrimage. A founder of the Catholic Worker Movement and longtime associate of Peter Maurin, Dorothy Day was eulogized in the New York Times as, “a nonviolent social radical of luminous personality.” The Long Loneliness recounts her remarkable journey from the Greenwich Village political and literary scene of the 1920s through her conversion to Catholicism and her lifelong struggle to help bring about “the kind of society where it is easier to be good.”
The Making of a Catholic President by
The 1960 presidential election, won ultimately by John F. Kennedy, was one of the closest and most contentious in American history. The country had never elected a Roman Catholic president, and the last time a Catholic had been nominated--New York Governor Al Smith in 1928--he was routed in the general election. From the outset, Kennedy saw the religion issue as the single most important obstacle on his road to the White House. He was acutely aware of, and deeply frustrated by, the possibility that his personal religious beliefs could keep him out of the White House. In The Making of a Catholic President, Shaun Casey tells the fascinating story of how the Kennedy campaign transformed the religion question from a liability into an asset, making him the first (and still only) Catholic president. Drawing on extensive archival research, including many never-before-seen documents, Casey takes us inside the campaign to show Kennedy's chief advisors--Ted Sorensen, John Kenneth Galbraith, Archibald Cox--grappling with the staunch opposition to the candidate's Catholicism. Casey also reveals, for the first time, many of the Nixon campaign's efforts to tap in to anti-Catholic sentiment, with the aid of Billy Graham and the National Association of Evangelicals, among others. The alliance between conservative Protestants and the Nixon campaign, he shows, laid the groundwork for the rise of the Religious Right. This book will shed light on one of the most talked-about elections in American history, as well as on the vexed relationship between religion and politics more generally. With clear relevance to our own political situation--where politicians' religious beliefs seem more important and more volatile than ever--The Making of a Catholic President offers rare insights into one of the most extraordinary presidential campaigns in American history.
Mother Jones: the most dangerous woman in America by
Her rallying cry was famous: "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living." A century ago, Mother Jones was a celebrated organizer and agitator, the very soul of the modern American labor movement. At coal strikes, steel strikes, railroad, textile, and brewery strikes, Mother Jones was always there, stirring the workers to action and enraging the powerful. In this first biography of "the most dangerous woman in America, " Elliott J. Gorn proves why, in the words of Eugene V. Debs, Mother Jones "has won her way into the hearts of the nation's toilers, and . . . will be lovingly remembered by their children and their children's children forever."