History is a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes or a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events. In this category you will find our history books - general surveys of history and books related to specific periods of history in the Church such as the Patristic Era or the Middle Ages.

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life, and brings us tidings of antiquity." Cicero

The Reform of Renewal Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R. This clear and unequivocal call for personal reform as the basis of authentic renewal in society and in the Church is rooted in several sources. The work of an internationally recognized Biblical scholar (Rudolph Schnackenburg) is woven in with the observations of contemporary social critics as well as behavioral scientists. The author …

Today in America, some invoke a mythical constitutional principle "separation of Church and State" to inhibit the free exercise of religion. The tension between the authority of God's law on earth and the secular authority has a long and winding history. In this booklet, the VERY REV. BEDE JARRETT traces the difficulties in this struggle. While he concentrates on how the relationship between …

Mike Aquilina’s The Resilient Church is an erudite but highly readable illustration of Pope Benedict XVI’s remark that the Lord “encounters us ever anew” in the pages of Church history. Aquilina takes us on a fascinating ramble through the past two thousand years that ultimately delivers a powerful message: No matter how hard the going gets, God does not abandon his …

Louis de Wohl This is a stirring novel which deals reverently but realistically with the fascinating life and era of St. Augustine, one of the most remarkable men of all time.   In his vigorous and inimitable style, Louis de Wohl tells the story of St. Augustine's transformation from a vain, sensual youth to the brilliant, devout writer and theologian - the man who conquered himself as …

A sequel to "The Death of Christian Culture," this spiritual treatise covers social, cultural, and political topics. It explores the importance of religious knowledge and faith to the health of a culture, provides a historical sketch of the change in cultural and educational standards over the last two centuries, and illustrates how literary and other visual arts either contribute to …

There have occurred in the Catholic Church since Vatican Council II the most sweeping and revolutionary changes in her near 2,000-year history. One might even say the Church has adopted a totally new and different direction - so much so, for example, that the eminent Catholic writer-publisher, Frank J. Sheed, could write a book after Vatican II (1968) entitled Is It the Same Church? Whence …

Sir Martin Gilbert Distinguished historian Gilbert explores the courage of those who took incredible risks to help Jews whose fate would have been sealed without them. Those who hid Jews included priests, nurses, teachers, neighbors and friends, employees and colleagues, soldiers and diplomats, and, above all, ordinary citizens.

A relentless band of propagandists has convinced much of the world that Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church, in the face of the great moral crisis of the twentieth century, were little more than Nazi lapdogs. The myth of “Hitler’s pope,” however, is grounded not in the facts of history but in the ideological agenda of Pius’s detractors. Given unprecedented access to …

Warren H. Carroll This comprehensive history of international presents the whole mighty drama of the establishment of Communist rule over one-third of the world, from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to its almost miraculous defeat in Russia in 1991. A well-documented narrative with the power of a great novel, this is a landmark historical work, a panoramic presentation of the central theme of …

The Rise And Growth Of The Anglican Schism Rev. Dr. Nicholas Sander Fr. Edward Rishton First written c. 1573, this is the "earliest, most trustworthy account"of the Reformation in England. Contains documentation that defies description, such as, that Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's 2nd "wife," was actually his illegitimate daughter. Later finished by Fr. Rishton, the whole ghastly story of the …

Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way Pope John Paul II Following the success of the international bestseller Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II provides the world with a glimpse into his past in RISE, LET US BE ON OUR WAY. Chronicling the years he spent as a bishop and later archbishop in Krakow, Poland through his election as the first Polish Pope in 1978, he recounts everything from …

The inside story of how Pope Benedict XVI was elected and where he will take the Catholic Church. On April 18, 2005, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church gathered to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II. Faced with several potential candidates, the cardinals made a bold choice, entrusting the Keys of the Kingdom to 78-year-old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of …

Sociologist Rodney Stark combines his expertise in social science with historical evidence to offer a provocative report. Stark finds that early Christianity attracted the privileged rather than the poor, and that Christianity's astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better, more secure way of life. Index. 9 photos. Map. Tables.

Donald Kirk and Russell Kirk This Catholic historian explores the theories our Founding Fathers drew from to design the American governmental system, tracing our American notions of justice and social order from Old Testament times to the present day. In this now classic work, Russell Kirk describes the beliefs and institutions that have nurtured the American soul and commonwealth of the …

Karl Adam The main reason we decided to republish this wonderful little book by Professor Karl Adam is that I wish someone had given it to me years ago when I was a young Lutheran or later when I was a Protestant pastor.  Like most Protestants, I understood the Reformation from only one perspective.  I had never truly considered, nor listened to, the Catholic side because I had never …

Charles Warren Stoddard St. Anthony of Padua - lector, orator, contemplative, wonder-worker - is considered to be the most popular Saint in the Catholic Church.  He was of French descent, from Portugal, but worked in Italy as a Franciscan priest.  Renowned for his incredible miracles - including preaching to the fish when people would not listen to him - he is most famous as …

"I have had enough of this new Abbot!"  announced one of the monks at Vicovaro. "Yes, Abbot Benedict thinks we have to be always obeying those rules he set up!" agreed another. "Remember the good old days when we could each do whatever we wanted?" put in a third. "I've had enough of him too," agreed yet another.  And the feeling was spreading. …

"A boy just fell off his horse and broke his neck!" blurted out the messenger as he rushed into the room.  Dominic and the others listened to the dreadful news. The boy was Napoleon Orsini - and he was dead.  "Napoleon . . . my poor Napoleon . . ." moaned the boy's uncle. "Perhaps all is not lost," murmured Dominic, as if to himself. Dominic calmly …

"The city's going to be destroyed by earthquake!" one excited person exclaimed. "No, fire and brimstone are going to fall from Heaven!" said others. "It's the end of the whole world, not just the city of Lima!" declared still others. What on earth had the saintly Father Francis Solano said last night in that sermon he gave in the market-place? Why, it was now …

"The Tartars, Father!  They've come!" A shiver ran through the other friars as they heard these words from a terrified novice.  Then, moments later, came blood-curdling screams not far off in the distance.  The long-dreaded attack had finally come. Father Hyacinth calmly took from the tabernacle the ciborium containing the Consecrated Hosts.  "All will be …

"Well, what do you think of Fr. De Montfort?" asked the Bishop eagerly. "Is he preaching heresy? Is he a tool of the Devil, as some people say? Or a mad-man, as others think?" The city was in an uproar over Fr. Louis De Montfort, and Bishop de Champflour had sent 3 wise priests to investigate. "I'm especially interested in learning about the True Devotion to the …

F. A. Forbes The life of St. Monica is the classic story of a great mother - for how else would the wayward young Augustine ever have become the great St. Augustine without his mother's prayers and example? Monica is also a shining example for Catholic wives.  As a young Catholic girl married to a pagan husband, she steadfastly practiced her Christian Faith; Monica's constant charity …

Saint Paul Called to Conversion: A Seven-day Retreat Ronald D. Witherup "Saint Paul is the most prominent personality of the New Testament, apart from Jesus himself. Thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament bear his name…Around the year AD 35 he had a remarkable experience on the road to Damascus…"—From the Introduction Paul's conversion is as …

Robert Stackpole, Director of the Marians' John Paul II Institute, does a masterful job of explaining the scriptural roots of the papacy in St. Peter, the first Pope. He also delves into the ministry of the Pope in the life of the early Church, and then makes clear why the Pope has universal jurisdiction in the Church as the successor of St. Peter.

      Fr. V. J. Matthews "Rome is to be your Indies." With these words from a saintly monk, St. Philip Neri (1515-1595) was given his vocation-not to the far-off missions, but to the City of Rome. At the beginning of the 16th century, Rome was corrupt and lukewarm, and the people lived in a state of spiritual laxity. But by the end of the century, Rome was a different …

Fr. Joseph Sicardo, O.S.A. For centuries St. Rita of Cascia has been one of the most popular saints in the Catholic Church.  She is known as the "Saint of the Impossible" because of her amazing answers to prayer as well as the remarkable events of her own life. Here are the classic stories from her life:  the bees which attended her birth, her great early desire to be a …

"The Dumb Ox" was a perfect nickname for young Thomas Aquinas-although it was none too kind. Thomas was big, slow to speak-a quiet and solemn youth. Even Father Albert was inclined to think him rather dull. No one knew about Thomas' amazing memory, or that he knew most of the Bible by heart, or that no subject was difficult for him. One day Thomas decided to amuse himself by writing …

F. A. Forbes "I ask of you only one word," said Vincent to the Ladies of Charity. "Will you go on with the work or no?" Ten years before, the Ladies of Charity had begun taking in babies left homeless and helpless in the streets of Paris. They had started out with twelve little ones. A decade later, 4,000 children-mostly still unbaptized-had been christened, adopted and …

Fr. Christopher Rengers , O.F.M. Cap. Nothing connected with the Passion and Death of Christ was purely accidental. And although Our Saviour was unquestionably the central Figure of Calvary, many other persons - by God's Providence - took part in the living drama of the first Good Friday. These persons too provide instruction for our own lives. In this book, Fr. Christopher Rengers draws …

Saints Of North America Vincent J. O'Malley, C.M. Meet more than a hundred saints, blesseds, and official candidates for sainthood who lived and worked in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caibbean. Learn more about these "local" men and women - and children! - whose examples of holiness prove that personal sanctity is possible right here, right now. The …

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger with Peter Seewald Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, well-known Vatican prelate and head of the Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith, gives a full-length interview to a secular journalist on a host of controversial and difficult issues facing Catholicism and Christianity at the end of the millennium. Similar to his best-selling book interview in 1985, The Ratzinger …

Dr. Scott Hahn A remarkable series that shows how the Catholic Church is the culmination of salvation history and the fulfillment of God's covenants with His people in the Old Testament. One Holy Family:  From Adam to Noah One Holy Tribe:  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob One Holy Nation:  Moses, Aaron, Levi One Holy Kingdom:  David and Solomon One Holy Church:  Jesus and the …

This book traces the role of Judaism and the Jewish people in God's plan for the salvation of mankind, from Abraham through the Second Coming, as revealed by the Catholic faith and by a thoughtful examination of history. I will give both Jews and Christians a deeper understanding of Judaism, both as a religion in itself and as a central component of salvation history. The book examines the …

Translated, with an introduction by Sister Benedicta Ward SLG; Foreword by Metropolitan Anthony [Bloom] of Sourzah `Give me a word, Father', visitors to early desert monks asked. The responses of these pioneer ascetics were remembered and in the fourth century written down in Coptic, Syriac, Greek, and later Latin. Their Sayings were collected, in this case in the alphabetical order of the …

Nathaniel Hawthorne An ardent young woman, her cowardly lover, and her vengeful husband come together in this classic novel of sin and salvation in the Puritan world of 17th-century Boston. Features an updated bibliography and an Introduction by Brenda Wineapple, a leading contemporary Hawthorn scholar.

The Second Vatican Council and Religious Liberty by Michael Davies. It is probable that more has been written concerning Dignitatis humanae , the Vatican II Declaration on Religious Liberty, than any other document of that Council, except perhaps the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. In this book it is shown that a single peritus was able to impose his views upon the entire Council by …

Alfred Noyes An unusual story. Your first guess is it's about squirrels and chipmunks and porcupines and weasels. Well, it is and it isn't -- and are they animals? Halfway through you conclude that it is about Indians and white men in colonial times. . . . A story of adventure and mystery -- with a difference. And it is the "secret", elusive and priceless, that spells the difference between …

An amazing true life story about... Word War II, Love, Prayer, Faith, Sacrifice, and how nothing is impossible for God. Here is the astonishing true story of the harrowing experiences of a young German seminarian drafted into Hitler's dreaded SS at the onset of World War II. Without betraying his Christian ideals, against all odds, and in the face of Evil, Gereon Goldmann was able to complete …

This book tells the moving story of Father Emil Kapaun, a chaplain from Kansas who served during the Korean War. He was captured by the North Koreans and died in prison at the age of 35. His cause for sainthood has been opened in his diocese.

The history of the Catholic Church is an essential part of world history over the past two thousand years. This book, written for Christians and non-Christians alike, is meant for readers who are looking for a simple but not superficial introduction, which identifies the main thread, the salient features, of that history. "Aimed at the man in the street, it is by far the best work of its kind …

Imagine the dangerous life of a First Century Christian. You've embraced your newfound faith in Christ but fear the risk of persecution or death at the hands of the pagans living around you. Then a trusted friend tells you about some of Jesus followers who secretly meet. He whispers into your ear, Look for a fish carved into the entranceway to the burialchambers beside the Via Tiburtina. You …

From the Loyola Classics series . . . "New editions of acclaimed Catholic novels."

A thorough study of the historical contributions of Catholic nuns to the building of America through its schools, hospitals and charitable organizations. The book also describes the collapse of religious orders following Vatican II.

John Fialka In the 1800s, nuns moved west with the frontier, building hospitals and schools in immigrant communities. They provided aid during the Chicago fire, cared for orphans and prostitutes during the California Gold Rush, and brought professional nursing skills to field hospitals on both sides of the Civil War. In the 1900s, nuns built the nation's largest private school and hospital …

This reader, compiled by renowned Solzhenitsyn scholars Edward E. Ericson, Jr., and Daniel J. Mahoney in collaboration with the Solzhenitsyn family, provides in one volume a rich and representative selection of Solzhenitsyn's voluminous works. Reproduced in their entirety are early poems, early and late short stories, early and late "miniatures" (or prose poems), and many of …

On August 9, 1945, an American B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing tens of thousands of people in the blink of an eye, while fatally injuring and poisoning thousands more. Among the survivors was Takashi Nagai, a pioneer in radiology research and a convert to the Catholic Faith. Living in the rubble of the ruined city and suffering from leukemia caused by over-exposure to …

The Song of Bernadette By Franz Werfel This is the classic work that tells the true story surrounding the miraculous visions of St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France in 1858. Werfel, a highly respected anti-Nazi writer from Vienna, became a Jewish refugee who barely escaped death in 1940, and wrote this moving story to fulfill a promise he made to God. While hiding in the little village …

Joseph I. Dirvin, C.M. Elizabeth Seton is an important saint for our times: she was a convert, an American, a wife and mother as well as a widow, the foundress of an order (the Sisters of Charity) and an administrator. Fr. Dirvin, an authority on Saint Elizabeth Seton, takes writings, correspondence, and recollections of Seton to reveal her deep life of faith and prayer. A moving biography and …

Soul of the World:  Notes on the Future of Public Catholicism By George Weigel What is distinctive about the Church in the world? What does the Church ask of the world, and what should the world expect of the Church? Soul of the World is George Weigel's exploration of the rich theological roots of the public witness of the Roman Catholic Church, especially during the pontificate of John …

Rev. Louis Bouyer shows Catholics the value of many principles that inspired the 16th century Protestant reformers such as free and unmerited salvation, the sovereignty of God, justification by faith, the believer's personal responsibility toward action, and the sovereignty of Holy Scripture. But he also discusses the weakening elements such as denial of objective value of the sacraments, as …

In this eloquent introduction to early Christian thought, eminent religious historian Robert Louis Wilken examines the tradition that such figures as St. Augustine, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and others set in place. Wilken shows how these early thinkers constructed a new intellectual and spiritual world and can still be heard as living voices in the modern world. "Get The Spirit of Early …

This is a study of seven of the American Founding Fathers - an examination of their attitudes, values and philosophies, all from the Roman Catholic point of view.  No American who would underestand his heritage can afford to miss what D'Elia gleans from the diaries, letters, books, and lives of Benjamin Rush, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton and Charles Carroll - the only …

This biography for young readers tells of the adventurous life of the Wampanoag Indian who befriended the Pilgrims at Plymouth.

George Dion Dragas St. Cyril of Alexandria offers us here the clearest Biblical understanding of the Orthodox Priesthood on the basis of a Christian exposition of the Old Testament Priesthood. The general principle that Christ did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill, holds true for the Priesthood of the Law as well. St. Cyril explains how the Priesthood of the Law is fulfilled and …

John Anthony McGuckin St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy describes the turmoil of 5th century Christianity seeking to articulate its beliefs on the person of Christ. The policies of the Theodosian dynasty and the conflicting interests of the patriarchal sees are set as the context of the controversy between Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria, a bitter …