By REY FLORES
The Church and the Modern Era, written by David M. Wagner and edited by Mike Aquilina; published by Ave Maria Press. Please visit https://www.avemariapress.com/series/Reclaiming-Catholic-History for ordering information on this book and others in the Reclaiming Catholic History Series.
The Church and the Modern Era (1864-2005) — Pius IX, World Wars, and the Second Vatican Council — by author David Wagner and series editor Mike Aquilina is the latest in an ongoing series of books documenting the history of the Catholic Church “beyond myth, misinformation, and missing pieces.”
Aquilina has collaborated with a number of authors, whose books include The Early Church, The Church and the Roman Empire, The Church and the Middle Ages, the latest being The Church and the Modern Era published in 2020, and the yet to be published The Church and the Dark Ages, The Church and the Reformation, and The Church in the Age of Enlightenment.
Beginning in 2019, the Reclaiming Catholic History series published by Ave Maria Press has brought a fresh new look at centuries-old myths, fables, historical figures, saints, and everything from ancient to modern history.
While at first it seems like the book series was written by apologists, theologians, and strictly Church history buffs, these works are quite an approachable and informational set of books that I believe most Catholics from ages 13 on up can learn a great deal from and enjoy.
The great thing about the Reclaiming Catholic History series is that there are still the three additional aforementioned ones to look forward to in the next year.
Since we’re focusing on The Church and the Modern Era (1864-2005), let me share some of what I learned and enjoyed.
First let’s start off with some of the Catholic saints featured in the book. We learn more about St. John Henry Newman who was canonized in 2019 and how he spent the first half of his life as an Anglican, becoming a Catholic to much controversy in 1845 at the age of 44.
We learn about when Leo XIII was elected to the Chair of Peter in 1878 and his being on the cusp of the twentieth century, bringing a revived interest among Catholics about Saints Thomas Aquinas, Robert Bellarmine, and Alphonsus Liguori.
One fact I did not know about Sudanese-born St. Josephine Bakhita was that she was originally baptized with the names Josephine Margaret Fortunata in 1890 by Archbishop Giuseppe Sarto, the future Pope Pius X.
The persecution of the Church in Spain and Mexico, racial equality, World Wars I and II, several papal encyclicals, and even the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II the Great are all also described in this book.
I haven’t read the other books in the series, but after reading and reviewing this one, I certainly would try and read and review them all for us.
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