Explains the basic tenets of the Catholic Faith and why we hold them. Delves into the historical background of virtually everything people find hard to understand about our Religion, such as priestly celibacy, sacred images, the Church and the Bible, the primacy of Peter, Communion under one kind, invocation of the Saints, etc. First published in 1876, when there was much anti-Catholic sentiment in the U.S., it sold 1.4 million copies in 40 years and has been reprinted many times since.
James Cardinal Gibbons was a priest and archbishop of Baltimore from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. After hearing a sermon by Clarence Walworth, co-founder of the Paulists, he entered St. Mary's Seminary and was ordained a priest in 1861. He was known for his popular sermons, which he gave on diverse topics and applied to Christianity in general. Later he was ordained as a bishop of Baltimore in 1877, a position he held until his death. Some of his books include The Faith of Our Fathers, Our Christian Heritage, The Ambassador of Christ, and A Retrospect of Fifty Years. Father Gibbons died in 1921.
