Why I Became a Catholic: A Timeless Conversion Story

by Joseph Pope

Book Overview

Originally written as a personal testimony to his own children on why he became a Catholic, this is a thoughtful and timeless conversion story of Sir Joseph Pope written during the early part of the 20th century. Born in 1854 to a family renowned for distinguished service to the Canadian government, Joseph carried on the family tradition as a highly regarded civil servant.

Like St. Thomas More, Pope was held in high esteem as a public servant,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898708079
• ISBN13: 9780898708073
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.9" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

A fast and fearless read

This is the sort of little book I love to stumble on, but which, with the rising costs of paper, printing, and thus books, is becoming all too rare. It's the story of Sir Joseph Pope, a Canadian politician of nearly a century ago, explaining to his children why he became Roman Catholic. I say "story" because what's intriguing to me is what this change meant for him, being highly respected and highly placed, as it were. In that respect it reads sort of like Brideshead Revisited. I hardly ever wish books were longer (and often wish they were shorter) but in this case I do. This absolutely fascinating book was for me the tip of the iceberg. It alludes to, but does not explain, all sorts of events in Canadian history and particularly the British Reformation. Of course all that would be common knowledge to his readers then, and Sir Pope likely did not think we'd be reading his memoirs some 100 years later--or find them so fascinating. This book nevertheless sells at quite a clip, and my plea would be that the next edition include a lot more footnotes or maybe a long introduction and a glossary. Maybe Martin Gardner will provide an annotated version as he has with many of G.K. Chesterton's novels. Or maybe Joseph Pearce will rise to the occasion and make Sir Pope the subject of his next biography. At any rate, whatever Sir Pope's children thought of these letters, he's hooked this reader and left him wanting more.