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The Life of Pope Leo XIII
Written by Fr. Bernard O'Reilly while that Pope was alive, and based on a memoir furnished to him by the Holy See. Thus, this work is nearly autobiographical, being based on the Pope's life as he wished it to be written. Fr. O'Reilly, making copious use of the Pope's Italian memoir, presents to us Gioacchino Pecci, the future Leo XIII, in the midst of the dramatic and revolutionary changes affecting the Church in both Italy and all Europe in the 19th century. In all events, Pecci as priest, Bishop, Cardinal and later Pope, fought courageously for the Universal Church with prudence, humility and care, and above all defending his priests and the sacrament of Marriage against the innovations of the revolutionaries holding the seat of government throughout Europe. In this book you see the future Leo XIII fight the revolution head on in and how wrong the liberal view is that holds Mazzini and Garibaldi as heroes, and, moreover, how tyrannical the new Italian regime became in its persecution of the Church.
606 pages, Hardcover
Published March 29, 2019
14 people want to read
About the author
Bernard O'Reilly
70 books5 followersRt. Rev. Fr. Monsignor Bernard O'Reilly, D.D., L.D.
Historian, b. 20 Sept., 1820, in County Mayo, Ireland; d. in New York, U.S.A. 26 April, 1907. In early life he emigrated to Canada, where in 1836 he entered Laval University. He was ordained priest in Quebec, 12 Sept., 1843, and ministered in several parishes of that diocese. He was one of the heroic priests who attended the plague-stricken Irish emigrants in the typhus-sheds along the St. Lawrence after the "black '47". Later he entered the Society of Jesus and was attached to St. John's College, Fordham, New York. When the Civil War broke out he went as a chaplain in the Irish Brigade and served with the Army of the Potomac during a large part of its campaigns. He then withdrew from the Jesuits and devoted himself to literature, becoming one of the editorial staff of the "New American Cyclopedia" to which he contributed articles on Catholic topics. At the conclusion of this work he travelled extensively in Europe, sending for several years an interesting series of letters to the New York "Sun". He lived for a long period in Rome where Pope Leo XIII, besides appointing him a prothonotary Apostolic in 1887, gave him the special materials for his "Life of Leo XIII" (New York, 1887). Among the many books he published these were notable: "Life of Pius IX" (1877); "Mirror of True Womanhood" (1876); "True Men" (1878); "Key of Heaven" (1878); "The Two Brides" (1879); "Life of John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam" (1890). On his return to New York from Europe he was made chaplain at the convent of Mount St. Vincent, where he spent the rest of his days. On the occasion of his sacerdotal jubilee he was given a signed testimonial of appreciation of his fellow priests and friends.
Historian, b. 20 Sept., 1820, in County Mayo, Ireland; d. in New York, U.S.A. 26 April, 1907. In early life he emigrated to Canada, where in 1836 he entered Laval University. He was ordained priest in Quebec, 12 Sept., 1843, and ministered in several parishes of that diocese. He was one of the heroic priests who attended the plague-stricken Irish emigrants in the typhus-sheds along the St. Lawrence after the "black '47". Later he entered the Society of Jesus and was attached to St. John's College, Fordham, New York. When the Civil War broke out he went as a chaplain in the Irish Brigade and served with the Army of the Potomac during a large part of its campaigns. He then withdrew from the Jesuits and devoted himself to literature, becoming one of the editorial staff of the "New American Cyclopedia" to which he contributed articles on Catholic topics. At the conclusion of this work he travelled extensively in Europe, sending for several years an interesting series of letters to the New York "Sun". He lived for a long period in Rome where Pope Leo XIII, besides appointing him a prothonotary Apostolic in 1887, gave him the special materials for his "Life of Leo XIII" (New York, 1887). Among the many books he published these were notable: "Life of Pius IX" (1877); "Mirror of True Womanhood" (1876); "True Men" (1878); "Key of Heaven" (1878); "The Two Brides" (1879); "Life of John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam" (1890). On his return to New York from Europe he was made chaplain at the convent of Mount St. Vincent, where he spent the rest of his days. On the occasion of his sacerdotal jubilee he was given a signed testimonial of appreciation of his fellow priests and friends.
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