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Destinations:
Books Get
hooked on American Catholic history
THE LIGUORI GUIDE TO
CATHOLIC USA: A TREASURY OF CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, MONUMENTS, SHRINES AND
MONASTERIES By Jay Copp Liguori, 326 pages,
$15.95 |
By ARTHUR JONES
Its likely the smallest Catholic church in America. But
think twice before you open the door to St. Anthony of Padua Chapel, the
14-foot-by-20-foot edifice tucked away amid the cedar trees on a country road
east of Fort Atkinson in eastern Iowa. And think twice before you open The
Liguori Guide. Why? Open that door or this book and you risk being hooked
on American Catholic history, which will take you down a stimulating, inspiring
and tantalizing road. Catholic history is faith-deepening. The physical
Catholic monuments -- rarely architectural gems -- begin to weave the tapestry
of ones own Catholic life in these United States.
Your parents and grandparents, the uncle here, the aunt there, the
half-remembered family story -- these are the friendly Catholic spirits, ghosts
if you will, that swirl around in the near-conscious as one first delves into
and then touches the past.
The 1885 chapel in Iowa was built because Johann Gaetners
mother promised God she would build a chapel if her soldier son survived a
Russian campaign.
Another small church -- this one in Maine and not as petite as
Gaetners -- is the attractive redbrick St. Patrick Church in Newcastle.
The oldest Catholic church in New England, it was founded by Irish immigrants
in 1796. And in Maine, too, among that states many Liguori entries, there
is at Norridgewock a monument to Fr. Sebastian Rasle, who in 1724 gave his life
defending Native Americans attacked by British soldiers.
Around America, it barely matters where the Catholic traveler
stops -- theres something of note. Downtown Dallas at Allen and Cochrane
Streets boasts St. Peter the Apostle Church, the citys oldest
African-American parish, started with 12 members, including some former slaves,
in 1905.
New York City? Well, head to Chinatown and Little Italy and
theres the start of the citys Catholic presence: Old St.
Peters on Barclay Street, and Old St. Patricks on Mott Street. Each
important in the life of the person who may be Americas first black
Catholic saint -- Pierre Toussaint.
For $15.95, this Liguori paperback is a revelation. Taken along
when you travel, its entries become destinations in themselves, or that equally
welcome boon to the traveler: a chapel-of-ease for a little prayer, reflection
and thanks.
Arthur Jones is NCRs editor-at-large and author of
New Catholics for a New Century: The U.S. Church Today and Where Its
Headed. His e-mail address is ajones@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, October 20,
2000
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