This unique book, written and illustrated by and for kids, leads children on an enjoyable journey through the fascinating history of the Catholic Church in the United States. Saints, worship, vocation stories, and personal witness are among the many topics featured. Craft ideas, seasonal recipes and nearly 300 drawings and photos celebrate Catholic life in America.

Here's a unique book that's part American history, part catechism, features religious crafts, and seasonal recipes, AND is written and illustrated by and for kids! Ideal for ages 9-12.

An eye-opening journey into America's past. Documents how much of the "history" that Americans have been taught in public and private schools and promoted in establishment history texts is at the least, distorted; at worst, it is myth. Before America became a land of predominantly English Protestants, it was a land explored and settled by Irish, Scottish, Spanish, and French Catholics. This work documents that the first known explorers, pioneers, and settlers of America were Catholic. Of the 48 Continental States, Catholics settled first in thirty-three, while Protestants were first in only fifteen. For example: Did you know:-that there were settlements by Catholics in New England before the Pilgrims arrived in 1620?-that Catholics had explored and established settlements in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia before Jamestown was settled in 1607?-that Catholics had celebrated the truly first Thanksgiving feast in America eighty years before the Pilgrims did?

Faherty presents a lively history of the American Catholic Church from colonial days to the present. He appraises Vatican II, especially in terms of changes that council brought to the pursuit of religious liberty. Will Catholics ever build a truly America Catholic Church? Can the Church constructively influence a nation threatened by moral decline? American Catholic Heritage gives the historical context that will shape the answers to these questions.

America’s got faith! You’ll find it in every state — in grand cathedrals and tiny chapels, in miracle shrines and underwater statues, and even in blessed dirt. Finding these sacred places hasn’t been easy, until now! Monuments, Marvels, and Miracles: A Traveler's Guide to Catholic America takes you to more than 500 of the country’s most intriguing holy sites, each with a riveting story to tell. Stories about: architecture (the interior of Guardian Angels Cathedral in Las Vegas resembles angel wings) religious history (at Maryland’s Old Bohemia, Jesuit priests lived and worked incognito during anti-Catholic persecution) artifacts (the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Philadelphia holds an original cast by Saint Catherine Labouré) answered prayer (from the Grasshopper Chapel in Minnesota to the Coral Miracle Church in Hawaii) healing places, beautiful places, hidden places, places where saints walked, and much more. Organized by state and region, Monuments, Marvels, and Miracles can help you easily plan your vacation or pilgrimage, and find sites close to you that you’ve never heard of. Chapters also include Catholic trivia and color photos. Websites, phone numbers, addresses, and other pertinent information are included. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marion Amberg is an award-winning book author and freelance journalist. Her articles — mainly religion travel pieces and human-interest features — have appeared in more than 100 markets. She is known for her “nose for the unique and unusual” and for her engaging writing style.

As Americans rethought sex in the twentieth century, the Catholic Church's teachings on the divisive issue of contraception in marriage were in many ways central. In a fascinating history, Leslie Woodcock Tentler traces changing attitudes: from the late nineteenth century, when religious leaders of every variety were largely united in their opposition to contraception; to the 1920s, when distillations of Freud and the works of family planning reformers like Margaret Sanger began to reach a popular audience; to the Depression years, during which even conservative Protestant denominations quietly dropped prohibitions against marital birth control. Catholics and Contraception carefully examines the intimate dilemmas of pastoral counseling in matters of sexual conduct. Tentler makes it clear that uneasy negotiations were always necessary between clerical and lay authority. As the Catholic Church found itself isolated in its strictures against contraception—and the object of damaging rhetoric in the public debate over legal birth control—support of the Church's teachings on contraception became a mark of Catholic identity, for better and for worse. Tentler draws on evidence from pastoral literature, sermons, lay writings, private correspondence, and interviews with fifty-six priests ordained between 1938 and 1968, concluding, "the recent history of American Catholicism... can only be understood by taking birth control into account."