Q. What books on the history of the Catholic Church would you recommend?
— A.H., Rockford
A. A Catholic Church history is a specialized study and there are many books that have been written about all or part of its past, which after all covers the last 2000-plus years. Some of them are well-known.

For people wanting to sample something of the history of the Church, I have always thought that the writings of Msgr. Philip Hughes are good.

He offers a simple yet thorough overview of the history of the Catholic Church and, of course, there are many other authors who treat all or part of the history more expansively, but Msgr. Hughes does well in his three-volume collection:  “A History of The Church” published by Sheed and Ward.  The collection includes “Volume I: The Church And The World In Which The Church Was Founded;” “Volume II: The Church And The World The Church Created. Augustine To Aquinas;” and, “Volume III: The Revolt Against The Church. Aquinas To Luther.”

There is also a whole collection of books that are written about the history of particular dioceses or churches. For anyone interested in delving more into local history I would of course suggest any or all of the four written histories of the Rockford Diocese.

The first, “History of the Diocese of Rockford,” was written in 1924 by Father C.J. Kirkfleet, O. Praem.
“The Golden Jubilee History of the Rockford Diocese” was published in 1958 and written by Father Edward L. McDonald.

In 1976 Father Robert R. Miller wrote “That All May Be One, A History of the Rockford Diocese” and then, in honor of the diocesan centennial in 2008, Msgr. David Kagan, Laurine M. Easton and William F. Easton wrote “The Diocese of Rockford 1908-2008, Our History.”

There are few institutions on earth that have had as conspicuously distinguished a history as the Catholic Church. This is not to deny that we have less proud moments, too, but even those can confer on us some knowledge of the Church and its existence through time. Generally speaking, Catholics who study the history of the Church seldom come away disappointed.

(Editor’s note: The histories of the Diocese of Rockford mentioned by Bishop Doran should be available by contacting your local parish or local library. Copies of the 2008 history book are still available for purchase at the Diocesan Administration Center for $25 plus shipping. Info: 815/399-4300 or [email protected])

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