Religion

Relieve the excitement of State Street's Christmas parade through these historic photographs, many of which have never been published ... until now!

State Street, that Great Street. The name itself stands the test of time, remembered by anyone who lived in or visited Chicago. It is the main artery of the heart of the city. It is where memories were made and kept. This book vividly recreates, for the first time, a Christmas holiday trip down State Street. You will visit many of the major shops and stores that existed during the 1940s and beyond, viewing old display windows and getting reacquainted with famous Christmas characters such as Weiboldts's Cinnamon Bear, Montgomery Wards's Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the crown jewel of State Street, Marshall Fields's Uncle Mistletoe. Get into the Christmas spirit, taste the charm of holiday dining in State Street's fine restaurants, and the go back to that magical wonder of a child's first holiday trip to State Street, complete with a visit to Santa.

If you know anything about American history, you know the country was founded on the principle of religious tolerance. If you're more advanced, you know it depended on which religion.

Strange as it may seem today, it was illegal to practice Catholicism in Massachusetts until 1780, and the first public Mass wasn’t celebrated until eight years later. However, by 1808, so much progress had been made that Pope Pius VII created the Diocese of Boston, which then encompassed all of New England. The community continued to grow throughout the 19th century, and by the early 1900s was a significant part of the Boston community, greatly bolstered by the waves of Irish and Italian Catholics immigrating in the US. The Catholic community had come of age, from newcomers with customs often perceived as strange, to being ever present at public events and in local, state, and national politics. This book traces the evolution of the Catholic community and its relationship with the larger Boston community, from its very humble beginnings in the 18th century through the death of influential Cardinal Richard J. Cushing in 1970.

Emerging from the former Indiana Territory, the state's early population was in need of education, health care, and social services to assist young families, the poor, the infirm, and the elderly. These needs were frequently met by Catholic religious orders, including the Benedictines, Sisters of Providence, Franciscans, Daughters of Charity, and other established organizations of dedicated religious men and women.

In 1870, Mother Aloysia Lowe and five Sisters of Charity arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to found a community of sisters for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Mother Aloysia purchased a 200-acre property in Greensburg in 1882 to accommodate the growing community. It became known as Seton Hill. The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill have dedicated their lives in service of others. From the establishment of groundbreaking educational institutions, including Seton Hill University, to the operation of advanced health-care facilities and vital social service programs, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill influenced the lives of thousands. Their pioneering spirit, evidenced in their expansive mission work, culminated in 1960 with a mission to Korea. The Korean Province and the United States now unite the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill as an international congregation.

Since 1845, along the River Raisin in the southeastern Michigan town of Monroe, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) have distinguished themselves as educators, activists, and Catholic pioneers.

At the congregation’s peak, the motherhouse dispatched nearly 1,600 nuns to more than 100 schools across metropolitan Detroit and several states.For 175 years, the sisters taught the three Rs and the meaning of faith to nearly 700,000 students and established important metro Detroit institutions such as Marygrove College, Immaculata and Marian High Schools, and St.Mary Academy.Widely known by their initials, the IHMs have extended their reach worldwide.Monroe IHM members have served in key roles at the Vatican, as leaders of organizations representing Catholic sisters in the United States, as missionaries in Third World countries, and as groundbreaking activists and theologians.The Monroe IHMs today also attract lay women and men who dedicate themselves to the congregation’s values and goals by becoming IHM Associates.

The arrival of Franciscan friars of the Jalisco Province in Mexico escaping religious persecution in 1926 to Hebbronville, a rural community in South Texas, is an enduring story that still resonates in the hearts of many. Since then, Franciscans have been dedicated to the cultural, educational, and spiritual needs of Hebbronville and surroundings communities that have supported them over the years.

One of the many remarkable contributions of the Franciscan legacy in Hebbronville is the Scotus College, a majestic four-story seminary building considered a Texas historic treasure and a preeminent local architectural landmark. This book is the pictorial account of these events that led a group of Franciscans to offer their lives, full of unwavering faith and boundless hope, to a community that embraced them. It is an inspiring story that becomes a lesson about love, devotion, and sacrifice in appreciation to the people of Hebbronville that helped persecuted Franciscan friars survive. 

Fr. Juan Jose Ibarra, OFM, founder of the Franciscan Museum of Hebbronville whose archives have contributed to this book, has worked closely with the Archivo Histórico Franciscano de Zapopan in Mexico and the Jim Hogg County Historical Commission. He currently serves as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and guardian of the Franciscan Friary in Hebbronville, Texas.

Step inside Washington's own Gothic cathedral

Despite being built entirely during the 20th century (1907-1990), the techniques used to construct the Washington National Cathedral were the same as those used on the centuries-old Gothic churches in Europe. What powered the larger tools and cranes was different, but otherwise, the processes, ordering, and artistic finishing were almost entirely medieval. The last time a building of this magnitude was built using these techniques, cameras did not exist. Images of America: Building Washington National Cathedral divides the 20th century into decades to detail what must be the first published beginning-to-completion photographic record of the construction of a Gothic cathedral.

Franciscan friars entered the religious landscape of the United States in 1539 and remained part of colonial history in Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, California, and Louisiana until they were no longer colonies.

A Franciscan mission revival began in the 1840s when groups of Franciscan friars arrived with Irish, German, Polish, Italian, and eastern European immigrants.In the 20th century, the friars began to accompany Latin American and Vietnamese immigrants.The number of Franciscan friars peaked in the United States in the 1960s.In the midst of that boom, they engaged in such issues as civil rights and the changes that came to the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council.Despite aging and declining numbers in the last 50 years, the Franciscan friars remain active.Franciscans were—and still are—woven deep into the fabric of US history, and in their archives, they have the pictures to prove it.Images of work with Native Americans, in soup kitchens, with social service agencies, and in parishes, schools, and universities provide a compelling look at this little-known part of US history.

Explore the fascinating history of Detroit’s Gesu Catholic Church and Schoolthrough the images and stories of the people who were there.

In a reconfigured farmhouse just a mile outside of the city limits of Detroit, a Jesuit priest and 25 men, women, and children gathered to celebrate Sunday mass on March 19, 1922.

The Reverend John McNichols named the Catholic mission church Gesu, the Italian word for Jesus.Gesubecame one of Detroit's landmark parishes. Its history illustrates the Motor City'sboom, bust, resilience, and resurgence. It was the home parish of four Detroit mayors, powerful members of Congress, auto industry titans, sports legends, artists, authors, and actors. At its peak in the mid-1960s, GesuSchool enrolled 1,600 students. Because of Detroit's decline and its racial and economic struggles, Gesuis one of only four Catholic elementary schools that remain in the city. But as Detroit rebounds, Gesu Schoolis growing again.

Author Patricia Montemurri is an award-winning Detroit journalist whose in-laws were the church's architects and stained-glass designers.Gesu'shistory unfolds here through vintage photographs from the parish archives, the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the University of Detroit Mercy, the Walter P. Reuther Library, the Michigan Catholic, and the albums of Gesuparishioners and graduates.

With rare photos and glimpses of its eccentric founder, discover the curious, fascinating history of the religious society that drew thousands of international visitors to the shores of Benton Harbor.

In 1903, Benjamin Purnell, a long-haired, bearded itinerant preacher, arrived in Benton Harbor. He and his wife, Mary, stepped out of their covered preacher's wagon, and gazing across a thriving summer resort, they saw their long-awaited paradise. Acquiring this paradise, they established a religious colony called the House of David, which grew to over 1,000 members from around the world, with phenomenal talents in music, sports, entertainment, and architecture. A pre-Disneyland-type amusement park was constructed, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. As the colony's leader, the very charismatic and convincing Purnell called himself a brother to Jesus, and members flocked in, handing over their homes, wealth, and worldly possessions for the promise of everlasting life, creating huge wealth. Soon they built exquisite mansions, hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, factories, and miniature railroads. Holdings included diamond and gold mines, an island in Lake Michigan, thousands of acres of farmland, an Australian resort, an art studio, orchestras, vaudeville acts, a famous bearded baseball team, and more. This book will take readers on the fascinating journey of the House of David.

In the 20th century, the rapid ascent of the automobile industry after World War One and the tremendous increase in Detroit's population triggered a parallel growth in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Witness the lean years of the 1930s when the Depression gave rise to Detroit's most famous cleric, Father Charles Coughlin, the "radio priest" of Royal Oak. March to the battlefront in the 1940s as Monsignor Joseph Ciarrocchi used the printed word as his weapon in America's fight against fascism. Relive the prosperous 1950s as the post-war baby boomers made their presence felt in every parish school. Finally, reflect on Catholic Detroiters during the turbulent 1960s.

Through captivating images and narrative, read why the historic St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church has endured for 150 years as a source of service and faith-based community in the small town of Marion, Massachusetts.

The Chaldean Church is among the ancient Eastern Churches serving the Chaldean people around the world.

Present-day Chaldeans are the descendants of the ancient people of Mesopotamia (Iraq)—the cradle of civilizations, the bedrock of the Old Testament prophets, and the land of the first Christians outside the ancient Roman Empire. Chaldeans are Catholic in faith, using the ancient Aramaic liturgical rite with the language that Jesus spoke during his earthly ministry. The Chaldean Church has a glorious history with countless martyrs and great missionary enterprises. By the start of the 20th century, Chaldeans increasingly began to flee Iraq in search of freedom and stability. Today, although several generations have been born and raised in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia, Iraq remains an important religious and cultural region. This book portrays important events during Chaldean history, with a focus on the migrant groups in the United States and Canada.