Commonwealth Catholicism: A History of Catholic Church in Virginia [Hardcover]

Gerald P. Fogarty (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 736 pages
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press; First Print edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026802264X
• ISBN-13: 978-0268022648
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #793,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive work of painstaking research, October 14, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Commonwealth Catholicism: A History of Catholic Church in Virginia (Hardcover)

In Commonwealth Catholicism: A History Of The Catholic Church In Virginia, Jesuit Gerald Fogarty (William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Religious Studies and History at the University of Virginia) brings the people, places, and events that shaped the Virginia church vividly to life. He engagingly surveys the inhospitable colonial period, to the Revolutionary War, to the Civil War, down through Vatican II. Here is a dynamic history of bishops, priests, nuns, politicians, advocates, enemies, and the laity. We meet such remarkable personalities as Father Matthew O'Keefe (who pulled a pair of revolvers on two men who had been sent to assassinate him) and Father William L. Lane (a black priest who worked tirelessly to create a Catholic presence among African Americans); and a host of others. Very highly recommended reading for students of American religious history in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, Commonwealth Catholicism is an impressive work of painstaking research, impeccable standards of scholarship, as well as a skilled and distinctive talent for narrative writing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent production quality and content!, July 8, 2011

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This review is from: Commonwealth Catholicism: A History of Catholic Church in Virginia (Hardcover)

I bought this book to keep in my personal library because I was one of its proofreaders back when it was first published, and even when I was working on the proofs, I remember thinking, "This is a well-written and well-edited book." The content captures the essence of the Catholic experience in Virginia, and Notre Dame Press has done a fantastic job on its physical quality. These days, few books are typeset and proofread by real professionals. If you want to see what a difference it makes, take a look at this book, then at a newer work that's been thrown together by a computer.