History
The Suffering of Irish Catholics Under Cromwell and the Puritans
by Cardinal Francis Patrick Moran
“All the cruelty inflicted on the city of Rome by Nero and Attila, by the Greeks on Troy, by the Moors on Spain, or by Vespasian on Jerusalem – all has been inflicted on Ireland by the Puritans” (Dr. John Lynch, Archdeacon of Tuam. Eyewitness of the Puritan atrocities in Ireland.)
In this meticulously documented book, the Irish-born Cardinal Francis Patrick Moran, third Archbishop of Sydney, gives us the harrowing yet heroic story of the sufferings of the Irish Catholics under Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans. In it, we see how these wicked men were determined to annihilate the Catholic religion in Ireland and the terrible and bloodthirsty lengths they went to in order to achieve this. However, we also see how the power of God’s grace and the stalwart example of a virtuous clergy enabled the Catholics of the land to weather the horrendous storm, remain faithful to Christ and His Church and win the only victory that ultimately counts, the victory over the world, the flesh and the devil.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 378 pages
Fabiola
or the Church of the Catacombs
by Cardinal Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
This classic novel plunges us into Rome of the fourth century AD. and depicts the clash between the existing pagan civilization and growing Christianity.
Fabiola is a cultured young patrician woman who admires the ideals of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. One day she discovers that her friend Sebastian of Rome, an officer in the Praetorian Guard, is a Christian. So is one of her slaves, and worse still, her beloved cousin Agnes.
As Maximian reignites the persecution of Christians in Rome, all around Fabiola heroes and traitors clash. “Whoever is not with Me is against Me”, “whoever does not gather with Me scatters”, says Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what is at stake in this drama where the actors show us the best and the worst of what each one can become.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 562 pages
The Soul of Ireland
by Fr William Lockington, S.J.
Ireland, the most westerly island of Europe, is world-renowned for the rugged natural beauty of her landscapes, the friendly welcome of her people and the joyfulness of her culture.
Fr Lockington, shows a deep appreciation of this exterior charm. But he goes much deeper. He asks the question: “What is the soul of Ireland?”
Taking us on a captivating and inspiring geographical, historical and spiritual journey of Ireland and all things Irish, Father Lockington shows us beyond a shadow of a doubt that “Ireland is Ireland in her Catholicity and her Catholic history”.
Written in 1919, some may be tempted to consider this book beautiful but irrelevant. “Ireland is no longer like that”, they will object. This is true, but if Ireland is to survive, she must rediscover her soul. This book will help her in that task.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 220 pages
Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary
by Charles A. Coulombe
Empress Zita of Austria (1892—1989) was declared a Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI. But who is she? What is it about her life and spirituality that inspired the Church to open the investigation into her beatification?
Zita’s life and her integral role within the House of Habsburg during the tumultuous 20th century are not well known. In Zita: Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, Charles Coulombe takes readers through Zita’s lineage and the political climate she was born into, Bl. Charles and Zita’s marriage, her support of Bl. Charles amid the destruction of the Catholic Monarchy, and much more. Bl. Charles and Zita’s story is one of hope, perseverance, and great faith. Through this couple’s devotion to the Sacred Heart, they inspired their children and their peoples to a greater love of God and country, despite the many trials they faced. As we similarly live in a society that denies God and attacks the family, we can turn to the example of this saintly couple.
Journey with Zita to learn how she persevered after Charles’s death, which left her in exile with their seven children and an eighth on the way, and how she kept the hope of a restored House of Habsburg alive, even under the threat of Nazism.
Hardcover, size 8.5" x 5.5", 424 pages
A Family’s Heroic Witness in an Age of Intolerance
by Patricia W. Claus
This is the true story of four courageous men who played pivotal roles in the religious and political struggles which nearly ripped England apart, from Henry VIII’s break with Rome in the 1530’s through the Civil Wars and the Restoration of 1660.
John Hampden, “The Patriot”, was a Puritan member of Parliament who reluctantly fought against King Charles I; his friend and relative the Reverend Robert Lenthall left England’s shores only to return home, disillusioned, barely three years later. Two of the Reverend’s relatives, the Speaker of the House of Commons William Lenthall, and the Speaker’s uncle St Robert Southwell, also played their parts in the political and religious upheavals of the times. The Speaker defended Hampden and four other men accused of treason by boldly asserting the rights of the House of Commons when Charles invaded it in January of 1642, a moment remembered forever in the annals of the Commons. But he also abandoned the faith of his ancestors to cling to power under the Puritan Parliament during the Civil Wars, a source of bitter regret at the end of his life.
His uncle St Robert Southwell, a Jesuit priest, poet and writer of some renown, paid the highest price of all these men for the freedom of conscience, dying as a martyr at Tyburn for the crime of being a Catholic priest. In a world in which religion was absolutely central to the individual, at a time when all Englishmen were forced to choose irrevocable political and religious paths according to their consciences, they all risked imprisonment or martyrdom; but their sacrifices ultimately led to the enshrinement of the ideas of freedom of speech and religion which are now the bedrock of the political systems of the entire English-speaking world.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 228 pages
A Holy Emperor And His Legacy
by Charles A. Coulombe
October 3, 2004 saw what appeared to many to be a very strange thing: Emperor-King Charles of Austria-Hungary, last Habsburg to rule in Central Europe and wartime foe of the United States, was raised to the altars of the Church as a Blessed by Pope John Paul II. But odd as this appeared, the real story of the “Peace Emperor” and his just as remarkable wife reads like a combination of a suspense thriller, Greek tragedy, and hagiography.
The inheritor of a tradition of Catholic monarchy dating back to the Roman Empire, Bl. Charles struggled to update it sufficiently to survive in the modern world. A brave soldier coming to the throne during a war whose start he had no part in, he risked everything to bring the bloody conflict to an end. Betrayed on all sides by allies, enemies, and subjects, his deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart, and the Virgin Mary helped him to avoid hating those who wronged him.
Devoted to his wife and children, Charles succeeded, with the help of his loving Empress, in leading a good Catholic family life despite everything. In a life filled with signs and miracles before and after his death, Bl. Charles managed to combine a life of deep piety with intense practicality. After his death, his wife and children continued his work—her cause for beatification is now being considered.
In these pages, prolific Catholic author Charles Coulombe brings to bear his vast erudition, affection for Catholic monarchy, and assorted contacts close to the Hapsburg family, through his residence in Austria in the production of a biography of a man whose thrilling and event-filled life story deserves to be better known.
Hardcover, size 8.5" x 5.5", 264 pages
by Sr Mary Loyola Vath
From the 1930s through the 1950s, Oxford Book Company produced a series of educational books called the “Oxford Visualized Texts”, encompassing topics from History and Government to Chemistry and Biology. How fortunate we are that they decided to include this Visualized Church History among their series! Collaborating with a group of talented Catholic art students, Sister Mary Loyola Vath managed to create in this volume a memorable Church History text for the upper grades. With charts, diagrams and cartoons to illuminate the text, she manages to present several complicated topics with unusual clarity.
First published in 1942, our reprinted edition of this classic includes the 1959 and 1962 updates that bring the reader up to the events just preceding the Ecumenical Council of Pope John XXIII.
Paperback, size 8.3" x 5.8", 374 pages
Heroic Catholic Chaplains
Stories of the Brave and Holy Men Who Dodged Bullets While Saving Souls
by Thomas J. Craughwell
For nearly 200 years—standing alongside our heroic military men and women—have been heroic Catholic priests risking their lives to carry wounded soldiers to safety and to console, anoint, and absolve the dying. Heroic Catholic Chaplains spotlights the stories of these courageous, selfless, holy priests who volunteered to bring the Mass and the sacraments to American troops, while also offering them their friendship and spiritual counsel.
In this book, you’ll encounter… Father William Corby, who left his post at Notre Dame to serve the Irish Brigade during all four years of the Civil War; Father Francis Duffy, a World War I chaplain whose story became the subject of a Hollywood movie; Father Aloysius Schmitt, who, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, saved the lives of a dozen men before losing his own; Monsignor James O’Neill, who composed the famous “Weather Prayer” for General Patton, an incident that would be immortalized in film, if not entirely accurately; Father Emil Kapaun, who, during months in a North Korean prison camp, worked tirelessly to save the lives and the souls of his fellow POWs (the process that could lead to Father Kapaun being declared a saint is underway); Father Vincent Capodanno, who was killed by the Viet Cong as he ran to help a wounded corpsman; And more!
Heroic Catholic Chaplains brings to the fore the stories of remarkable priests, most of whom have been overlooked by both military and Catholic historians. Their sacrifice and courage are difficult to imagine. They served so that our servicemen and women would not be without comfort, or without a friend, or be deprived of the Mass and the sacraments; so they would not fall into despair. These chaplains deserve to be remembered, their stories told, and their memories honored.
Hardback, size 8.75" x 5.6", 216 pages
If you want to be strong and of good courage, be sure that you care less about death than about shame.
-Geoffroi de Charny
Battles - Honour - Miracles!
This book is filled with amazing stories of little-known Catholic heroes presenting spectacles of bravery and valour never exceeded in all the annals of history. Demonstrating his gallantry through daring feats of arms, the knight's faith, coupled with his marvellous courage, made him nearly invincible on the field of battle. Built around a stirring chronicle of the Knights of St. John, these inspiring accounts bring to life Catholic heroes who fought with courage, chivalry, and an unwavering trust in God to protect their neighbour, their country, and their Faith.
"You must in no way indulge in too great fondness for pampering your body, for love of that is the worst kind of love there is. But instead direct your love toward the preservation of your soul and your honour, which last longer than does the body."
- Geoffroi de Charny, a 14th century knight and author of The Book of Chivalry
252 pp. Softcover.
How Christendom Defeated the Ottoman Turks
by Dane Moczar
Historian Diane Moczar pulls back the curtain on one of the most important acts in the drama of Muslim aggression against the West: the 500-year-long siege of Europe by the Ottoman Turks. Tracing the rise of the Turkish people from wandering Asian tribe to mighty pan-continental empire, Islam at the Gates chronicles the heroes and villains, the battles and atrocities, the tragic errors and timely miracles, that marked the Ottomans incursions from Europe s borders to the very heart of Christendom; and then, by the grace of God, their eventual repulsion and final defeat.
In these pages you'll encounter:
- The bold sultans, timid emperors, and vile traitors who aided the Turkish advance and the popes who tirelessly preached Crusade against it
- Brave saints who rallied Christian forces against the invaders including the hardy warrior-monk who died in battle at the age of sixty-one
- The island fortress whose rag-tag defenders continually thwarted superior numbers of Ottoman attackers defying even the great sultan Suleiman
- The suffering of millions of Christian families in occupied lands their children kidnapped and forced into Muslim armies and harems
- Folk heroes from the hills of Hungary and Albania who rose up against their Ottoman overlords and whose guerilla tactics inspired their people
- The tragic fall of Constantinople, seat of Eastern Christianity its people slaughtered, its treasures plundered, its sacred places befouled Europe s pivotal, improbable pair of victories at Lepanto and Vienna, and the defeat of the last great Turkish offensive on September 11, 1697
Solid history and dramatic narrative make Islam at the Gates a moving look at Europe s long struggle against the Turks.
But the author's shrewd Catholic outlook also makes it an edifying one. Had these events unfolded just a little differently, Christian civilization might have been conquered by the sword of Allah. If we fail to learn the lessons of history, Dr. Moczar warns, the West may yet fall.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 243 pages
The Rising in the Vendee
by Michael Davies
It is a matter of regret that very few English-speaking Catholics know anything whatsoever about the events that took place in the Vendee region of France during the French Revolution of 1789.
The aim of this book is to commemorate the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Vendee, where the people remained faithful to the Vicar of Christ and attached to their parishes and their priests, in spite of the cruelty of persecution to which they were subjected during the French Revolution. There is no more noble or inspiring story in the history of the Church than that of the heroic struggle of the people of the Vendee to defend their altars and their King.
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 100 pages
Where They Went and How They Got There
by J. Charles Wall
The Jews usually burned the crosses used by the Romans after executions but following Jesus' crucifixion they quickly threw the Cross in a ditch to get it out of sight before the feast of Passover. That preserved the True Cross, and memory of the events preserved its location.
Disgusted with continued Christian veneration of the spot, pagan Roman Emperor Hadrian erected on the Cross's burial site a statue to Venus, hoping thereby to obliterate their memory. It didn't work.
Indeed, because of the statue, when the Empire became Christian, St. Helena knew the exact spot where she would find the very Cross on which Christ died. All relics from Christ's crucifixion have a similarly fascinating story, all of which are told here in this 1910 work by the enterprising Catholic investigator Charles Wall.
Among the things you'll discover in these pages:
- The miracle that revealed to St. Helena which of the three discovered crosses was that of Jesus.
- The horse's bit made from a nail of the True Cross, and the successes it brought the horse's rider.
- The nails and why there are so many in existence today. A history of the fortunes the Crown of Thorns to those who held them, and a list of towns where thorns are found.
- Where, in 1492, workman accidentally discovered again the actual board on which "King of the Jews" was written.
- The modest Frenchman who saved a holy nail from profanation during the French RevolutionDrawings of the spear of Longinus, and reports of its later use in battles.
- Relics of Jesus' actual blood from the Crucifixion: and why it makes sense that some still exists.
- The veil of Veronica, Christ's seamless robe, and much more!
Paperback, 144 pages
100 Memorable Events in Catholic History Told in Picture and Story
by Rev Edward Lodge Curran, Ph.D.
Father Curran describes one-hundred events in Catholic history from the Annunciation to the 1930s. Each event includes a beautiful drawing and a brief one-page description. Events include stories from the life of Christ, works of the saints, important discoveries and contributions to culture, persecutions, as well as critical conflicts. The text includes 500 review questions for use by students.
Recommended for families or for 5th or 6th grade students.
Paperback, size 10" x 8", 132 pages
The True Story of Fr. Gereon Goldmann
by Fr. Gereon Goldmann
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 his priestly training, be ordained, and secretly minister to German Catholic soldiers and innocent civilian victims caught up in the horrors of war. How it all came to pass will astound you.
Father Goldmann tells of his own incredible experiences of the trials of war, his many escapes from almost certain death, and the diabolical persecution that he and his fellow Catholic soldiers encountered on account of their faith. What emerges is an extraordinary witness to the workings of Divine Providence and the undying power of love, prayer, faith, and sacrifice. Illustrated
Paperback, size 8" x 5.2", 350 pages
Her Founding, Mission and Progress
by Fr. George Johnson, Fr. Jerome Hannan, and Sr. M. Dominica, O.S.U.
To know and to understand the Church is a sacred duty for every Catholic. The Church is not just an organization to which we belong; it is an organization of which we are a part. Loyalty to the Church is not merely one among many loyalties. It is the one great loyalty of our lives in which all other loyalties are rooted and from which all derive their life and strength. For the Church is Christ and in the Church we are united with Him and with one another as members of one Body. Hence, a burning love for the Church must always be an outstanding characteristic of a good Catholic.
The Story of the Church has been written for boys and girls with the hope that, as they learn from the story that it tells, their love of Christ in His Church will increase and that a lifelong interest in Church History will be enkindled. As much as possible we have tried to weave our story around the great men and women who in every age have labored heroically for the spread of the Kingdom of Christ and who have won for themselves the most glorious title that can be given to a human being, the title of Saint. Christ lived in them and through them revealed to the world the power and the beauty of His Gospel. (From the Author's Preface.)
Originally published in 1935 and reprinted many times. A famous textbook in Church history woven around the lives of the famous; influential saints who labored heroically in every age to spread the Kingdom of Christ. 7th through 12th grade level. Copiously illustrated. A wonderful introduction to Church history for anyone - simple yet covers a lot! Includes list of popes and chronological table of Church events. Impr.
Paperback, size 7" x 4.75", 521 pages
The Life of Satoko Kitahara - Convert and Servant of the Slums of Tokyo
by Fr Paul Glynn, S.M.
Following his acclaimed work, A Song for Nagasaki, in which Fr. Paul Glynn told the powerful story of Dr. Nagai, a Christian convert of remarkable courage and compassion who ministered to victims of the atomic bomb attack on his city, The Smile of a Ragpicker brings us the heroic story of Satoko Kitahara, a young, beautiful woman of wealth who gave up her riches and comfort to be among the ragpickers in the Tokyo slums. Motivated by her newfound faith in Christ, she plunged into the life of the poor, regardless of the consequences.
As Satoko helped the poor with their material and spiritual needs, she also helped them to recover their self-respect and dignity. Satoko’s story demonstrates how one person’s life can affect so many others.
Every day Satoko encountered Christ in some new and challenging way, calling the Church back to identification with the poor. Like Dr. Nagai, she expressed her faith through the sensitivity and beauty of her own Japanese culture. Satoko died a young woman, in dire poverty. Yet her death, mourned by many thousands, reflected her triumphant life of deep Christian faith and charity.
This is a powerful story of reconciliation and healing, between people of different social, economic and religious backgrounds, inspired by a frail young woman of luminous faith.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 289 pages, Illustrated with photos
by George J. Hill, M.A. - 360 pages softcover
Few stories grip the heart and stir the soul like those tales of faithful Catholics who have risen up in arms to throw off the tyranny of anti-Catholic oppressors. The great stories from the bible such as that of young David or Judas Macchabeus and his sons have their numerous counterparts in the history of the Church as well. What Catholic has not thrilled to such stories as that of the First Crusade, or the defence of Malta or the Battle of Lepanto—all victories for the Catholics. But even when the Catholic cause is not immediately successful as in such epic wars as the Jacobite rebellions, the nine-years war of Red Hugh O’Donnell and The O’Neill against Queen Elizabeth, or the fight of the Cristeros for a Catholic Mexico, the stark reality of such glorious sacrifices for the Faith inspires us down through the ages.
Such is the story of the War in La Vendée and the courage of youth displayed in the story of the Little Chouannerie by the teenage scholars of Vannes. The satanic explosion of hatred of Christ, of his Church, and of all that was decent in Catholic France that is known to history as the French Revolution was valiantly opposed in the west of France by a peasant army in both Brittany and in La Vendée. This is their story.
The names of Charette, La Rochejaquelein, Abbé Bernier, Cathelineau, Le Tiec, and Jean Chouan should be as well known to Catholics as those of Red Hugh O'Donnell, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Padre Pro, Godfrey de Bouillion, Don Juan of Austria and others.
This story will break your heart…and will mend it as well.
Vive la Nation! Vive le Roi! Vive la réligion Catholique!
The Bishop Who Roared Against The Nazis
by Fr. Daniel Utrecht
“The dear God placed me in a position in which I had a duty to call black 'black' and white 'white'.” These words were spoken by Cardinal Clemens August von Galen, the bishop of the diocese of Münster in Germany from 1933 to 1946. In so doing, he risked death at the hands of the Nazis, one Gestapo leader even urging that he be publicly hanged. Joseph Goebbels and others in the Nazi leadership, knowing the bishop’s popularity, advised waiting, subscribing to the adage that “revenge is a dish best served cold.”
In this, the definitive English-language biography of the great Lion of Münster, readers will encounter the young von Galen as he learns the Catholic faith and love of the fatherland from his family, members of the German aristocracy. A nobleman, a “prince” of his people and of his Church, the boy grew into a man, a six-and-a-half-foot tall giant of a man, who, though he loved his homeland, loved God, His Church, and His law even more; for he knew that calling his homeland back to the ways of God is the one way in which a bishop can best demonstrate that love for the people under his spiritual care. And so, in three magnificent sermons and countless other speeches, communiques, and gestures, the Lion roared.
This story of his life and his stirring words provides readers with an indispensable glimpse into the confrontation between Church and State in Hitler’s Germany and will serve as a reminder to all men and women of good will of the duty to call black ‘black’ and white ‘white.’
Hardcover, size 9.25" x 6.25", 424 pages
by Fr Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp
Fr. Fahey’s life work was the promotion of the Catholic social doctrine of Christ the King. He firmly believed that “the world must conform to Our Divine Lord, not He to it.” He always defended the Mystical Body of Christ without compromise. He called the social doctrine “Our Lord’s Program for Order.”
This is the second book Father Fahey wrote exposing Communism as it was actually practised in Russia. The first book, The Rulers of Russia was published ten years earlier and was widely appreciated for its exposure of the truth about those who brought about the ‘birth’ of Communism.
“See to it, Venerable Brethren, that the faithful do not allow themselves to be deceived! Communism is intrinsically wrong.” — Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris, on Atheistic Communism
“When in Rome I began to realize more fully the real significance of the history of the world, as the account of the acceptance and rejection of Our Lord’s Program for Order. I used to ask permission to remain at the Confession of St. Peter, while the other scholastics went round the basilica."
“I spent the time there going over the history of the world, and I repeatedly promised Saint Peter that if I ever got the chance, I would teach the truth about his Master in the way he and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, wanted it done. That is what I have striven to do and am doing.”
Father Fahey not only clarified, explained, taught, and defended ‘Our Lord’s Program for Order’ in the world, he also actively fought and exposed the persons who were the enemies of that order. Because he did so, he has often been called ‘negative’ or ‘anti-Semitic’, or ‘much too concerned with Masonic conspiracies’. These are the pathetic terms of opprobrium hurled with such energy by those enemies of Christ whose plans he has effectively opposed. But in this he was in good company with St. Louis Marie de Montfort and Our Lady, who appears ‘terrible as an army set in battle array’ to the enemies of her divine son.
Listen to the words of St. Louis Marie as he stresses the two functions of our Blessed Mother, the positive one of making Our Lord known, and the negative one of making war upon His enemies. Mary must be manifested more than ever by her mercy, her power and her grace in these latter times; by her mercy, bringing back and lovingly welcoming the poor strayed sinners who will be converted and will return to the Catholic Church; by her power, against the enemies of God, idolaters, schismatics, Mohammedans, Jews, and men hardened in impiety, who will rise in terrible revolt to seduce all those who oppose them and to make them fall by promises and threats; she must also be made manifest by her grace animating and sustaining the valiant soldiers and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, who shall battle for His interests.
And lastly, Mary must be terrible to the devil and his ministers, as an army in battle array, principally in these latter times, because the devil knowing that he has but little time, and now less than ever, to damn souls, will every day redouble his efforts and his combats. He will before long raise up cruel persecutions and will lay terrible snares for the faithful servants and true children of Mary."
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 100 pages