In this engaging work, now available in paperback, Thomas H. O'Connor chronicles the activities, achievements, and failures of the Church's leaders and parishioners over the course of two centuries.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
O'Connor (history, emeritus, Boston Coll.) continues his focus on Roman Catholicism in Boston's history. This book (following Civil War Boston, LJ 1/98) condenses the more than 200-year history of the Church in Boston into developmental historical periods based on leadership of the city's archdiocese. Starting with the first public Mass on November 2, 1788, through Cardinal Bernard Law's leading a group of individuals to Pope Paul II's visit to Cuba (1998), O'Connor charts the course of the Church as well as the city. Unlike Robert F. Keeler's Parish (LJ 11/1/97), which focused on one parish, O'Connor's work examines the political, economic, and social climate that draws individual Boston Catholics into distinctive parishes. Though a time line would have been helpful, this interesting historical chronicle is recommended for public and academic libraries.?Leo Kriz, West Des Moines P.L., IA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A well-crafted local history that moves beyond institutional growth to capture the spirit of the people in the pews. O - Connor has made a career of Boston history (The Boston Irish, 1995; Civil War Boston, 1997) and teaches at a Catholic college, so it seems only natural that he should eventually synthesize these interests into a book about the city - s most conspicuous religion. He follows the Church - s rise from a minority sect despised by the Puritans, through its tentative acceptance after the Revolution, to its quashing again by the resurgent ``nativism'' of the 1840s and '50s, when tens of thousands of Irish fled the Potato Famine by teeming onto Boston - s shores. In the late 19th century, Boston - s Irish turned inward somewhat, building their own institutions, such as churches, parochial schools, and hospitals. They also faced a renewed campaign of ethnic opposition - not from the Old Guard this time, but from the new Italian and southeast European immigrants who began arriving in droves in the 1880s. (O - Connor can be faulted for focusing overmuch on the Irish experience, neglecting these other Catholic immigrant groups.) By the 20th century, Catholics, especially the Irish, dominated local politics, symbolized by the election of JFK - s grandfather John F. Fitzgerald as Boston - s mayor. O - Connor traces how WWII stimulated Catholicism - s numeric growth just as it did for Protestants (from 1944 to 1960, the number of Boston Catholics was growing by 50,000 - 60,000 per year). O - Connor also demonstrates the short-lived nature of this surge by including graphs depicting the archdiocese - s decline in priests, schools, and other institutions since the 1970s. However, the cycle of immigration and renewal seems to be repeating itself. Southeast Asian immigrants are filling the empty parishes, and the archdiocese now offers Mass in 15 different languages. Strong overall, replete with local texture, and geared toward the general reader. (33 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
evocotive, witty ,informative, thought provoking study,
By A Customer
This review is from: Boston Catholics: A History of the Church and Its People (Hardcover)
As a former student of Dr. O'Connor's (B.C. 1960) and as a Bostonian in spirit , when I read this book I felt I was back in his class at Gasson Hall. I was kept interested by the information and down to earth comments that Dr. O'Connor always used to help his students understand the more complex concepts in his U.S. History courses. He was always witty and used his non-threatening personality to get his students to fully appreciate the value of his beloved subject. This book was a revelation to me in many ways. Having grown up in St. Benedict's parish in Somerville, I lived through many of the situations Dr.O'Connor writes about: parochial education, C.Y.O. baseball teams, whist parties attended by my neighbors, the days of Cardinal Cushing and his radio rosary( which I remember saying in grammar school and at Columbus High in the North End), the May Processions, the identifying yourself by naming your parish first and a hogepoge of other simple facts which will get students of the 40's and 50's to reminisce pleasantly about their past. The little known fact about the saying of the first mass in Boston in King's Chapel on Tremont St. by a Franciscan priest for a young French officer bludgeoned to death while on a provisions mission for his ship was particularly informative.It was the type of effort Dr. O'Connor always made to keep his classes interesting. The research done about Cardinal O'Connell and how he went about building the Church in Massachusetts is a blueprint for young executives building the foundation of their own companies. The primary value of the book for me was a look back to my days growing up in Boston and being educated in the Catholic tradition of the time.It gave me a historical perspective of a period which was filled with controversy and strife in many ways and an organization which provided a stabilizing force which was badly needed. Dr. O'Connor's book will be particularly interesting not only to readers who grew up in Boston but also to those who want to fill in their desire to know more about how one organization can effectively serve a large population in a positive manner.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this informative, thought provoking and supremely readable work.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very readible and interesting text,
By rpcharlton@aol.com (Cape Cod) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boston Catholics: A History of the Church and Its People (Hardcover)
Dr. O'Connor makes a very objective and thorough analysis of the development of the Catholic Church in Boston.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable and informative history,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boston Catholics: A History of the Church and Its People (Paperback)
Thomas O'Connor is University Historian and Professor of History, Emeritus, at Boston College and draws upon his years of scholarship to provide an informative, engaging, splendidly written and flawlessly presented history of the Catholic church and laity in Boston, Massachusetts in Boston Catholics: A History Of The Church And Its People. From the earliest days of immigration when "no Catholics need apply" was a pervasive barrier to jobs, education, and housing, to the years of growth and assimilation spearheaded by an active and involved church, to the social and ecclesiastical changes of recent decades, this remarkable and informative history will be read with interest by Catholics and students of American history and culture.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
