The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism is a series of 150 volumes examining topics pertaining to Catholicism, many of them originally published in France. It was published in English in the United States by Hawthorn Books from 1958 to 1971. The series editor was Henri Daniel-Rops. The series was divided into 16 sections. In the United States, volumes were published individually over a number of years and made available for sale separately.

Background Information General The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism was intended to cover every aspect of the Catholic faith. Most of the authors occupied major posts in Catholic universities. Because most of the participating authors were European, the books were translated into English under the supervision of Lancelot Sheppard. The resulting works were approved by separate editorial boards in the United States and England. The individual books were also reviewed by officials of the Catholic Church, who granted the Church's imprimatur to each volume.

This series of books was originally planned to comprise 150 volumes organized into 15 sections encompassing general topics such as belief, faith, the nature of man, the Bible, etc. However, when completed, the series consisted of 16 sections; this was accomplished by reducing the size of the planned section covering Catholicism and the Arts from 13 volumes to 6 volumes, and creating an additional section for Catholicism and Science that consisted of 8 volumes. Ultimately the series consisted of 148 works of scholarship, as well as a "double-sized" index that was assigned two volume numbers.

The contemporary reaction to The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism was quite favorable. Besides the Catholic press and academics praising the series, the secular Saturday Review proclaimed it, "An enterprise of great scope in the intellectual and spiritual life of contemporary Catholicism." The series was awarded the Thomas More Association Medal "for the most distinguished contribution to Catholic publishing in 1958."

Publication

Hawthorn Books made an announcement in January 1958 that it was preparing to publish a new Catholic encyclopedia. The firm advised that it was planning on releasing the English language version of a French Catholic encyclopedia currently being published; at that time, 40 volumes of the French version were already in print. Instead of using the large folio format typically used in encyclopedias, the individual volumes were published in the much smaller octavo format, each about 125-150 pages in length. Each volume, while germane to the topic of its section, was meant to be self-contained with its own citations and bibliography.

The production was intended to be an international effort: with the books published in the U.S. by Hawthorn Books, in Canada by McClelland & Stewart Ltd, in Great Britain by Burnes Oates and Washbourne, in France by Librairie Arthème Fayard, and in Germany by Paul Pattlock Verlag. However, it is unknown if the publishing ventures besides those in the United States and France occurred.

The books within the series were planned to be published over a period of 75 months. Subscribers could purchase them at a rate of two-books-a-month for $5.00. If purchased individually, the books were sold for $3.50 each. The order in which the volumes were published did not coincide with the volume numbers within the series; for example, the first book published, What is the Bible?, was actually assigned volume #60 within the structure of the encyclopedia.

Publication of The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism started in September 1958 and by December 1964, 128 of the volumes had been published. However, production of the series took longer than planned and not all of the initially projected books were published. The final volume, the index, was not published until 1971. Also, while most of the volumes of the encyclopedia (94 by September 1962) were published before the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, some were published after the conclusion of that ecumenical council and reflect its influence.

Senior Editorial Team All four of the men that formed the senior editorial team were well-established Catholic authors, academics, and editors. Henri Daniel-Rops, Editor-in-Chief Lancelot C. Sheppard, English Supervising Editor Brother Celestine Luke, F.S.C., S.T.D., American Consulting Editor and Chief of Consultants Joseph W. Sprug, Editor of the Index

Organization of the Encyclopedia The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism was divided into sixteen sections, each of which was intended to explore a topic within the Catholic faith more deeply. The table below lists the sections and their topics.

+ Sections of The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism Section Topic Section Topic I Knowledge and Faith IX The Church and the Modern World II The Basic Truths X The Worship of the Church III The Nature of Man XI Catholicism and Literature IV The Means of Redemption XII Catholicism and the Arts V The Life of Faith XIII Catholicism and Science VI The Word of God XIV Outside the Church VII The History of the Church XV Non-Christian Beliefs VIII The Organization of the Church XVI General and Supplementary Volumes

Section I. Knowledge and Faith

+ Listing of Volumes Published for Section I Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 1 The Achievements of Vatican II Hollis, Christopher Feb-67 141 2 Is Theology a Science? Chenu, Marie-Dominique; Green-Armytage; Adrian Howell North 1959 23 3 The Meaning of Tradition Congar, Yves 1964 126 4 What is Dogma? Journet, Charles Jul-64 121 5 Do Dogmas Change? Rondet, Henri May-61 65 6 What is Faith? Joly, Eugène Sep-58 2 7 The Debate on Birth Control Bauer, Andrew (ed) 1969 148 8 Myth or Mystery? Daniélou, Jean Jun-68 145 9 Revelation and Reason Broglie, Guy de 1965 131 10 Is There a Christian Philosophy? Nédoncelle, Maurice Apr-60 39 11 The Origins of Christian Philosophy Tresmontant, Claude Jan-63 99 12 Medieval Christian Philosophy Delhaye, Philippe 1960 45 13 The Basis of Belief Trethowan, Illtyd Feb-61 59 14 Christianity and Science Abelé, Jean Oct-61 76 15 The God of Reason Jolivet, Régis Nov-58 6

Section II. The Basic Truths

+ Listing of Volumes Published for Section II Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 16 The Worship of God Philippe, M.-D. (Marie-Dominique) Sep-59 26 17 What is the Trinity? Piault, Bernard. Feb-59 11 18 The Holy Spirit Henry, Antonin Marcel Oct-60 51 19 The Creation Mouiren, Trophime Dec-62 98 20 The Problem of Evil Petit, François, O. Praem Sep-59 25 21 Who is the Devil? Cristiani, Léon Oct-58 4 22 Freedom and Providence Pontifex, Mark Sep-60 49 23 The Theology of Grace Daujat, Jean May-59 18 24 What is the Incarnation? Ferrier, Francis, Jul-62 90 25 What is Redemption? Philippe de la Trinité, Father Sep-61 72 26 The Communion of Saints Lamirande, Émilien Jan-63 100 27 Faith, Hope and Charity Bars, Henry May-61 66 28 Life After Death Becqué, Maurice, and Becqué, Louis Aug-60 48

Section III. The Nature of Man

+ Listing of Volumes Published for Section III Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 29 The Origins of Man Cristiani, Léon Nov-58 5 30 Evolution Collin, Rémy Nov-59 29 31 What is Man? Le Trocquer, René Feb-61 60 32 What is Life? Biot, René Mar-59 13 33 Personal Responsibility Lawlor, Monica Mary Nov-63 111 34 Man in His Environment Folliet, Joseph Sep-63 108 35 Man and Metaphysics Jolivet, Régis Aug-61 71 36 Psychical Phenomena Omez, Réginald Dec-58 7

Section IV. The Means of Redemption

+ Listing of Volumes Published for Section IV Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 37 Prayer Daujat, Jean Dec-64 127 38 The Nature of Mysticism Knowles, David Oct-66 138 39 Spiritual Writers of the Early Church Cayré, Fulbert Jan-59 10 40 Spiritual Writers of the Middle Ages Sitwell, Gerard, O.S.B. Sep-61 71 41 Post-Reformation Spirituality Cognet, Louis Oct-59 28 42 Spiritual Writers in Modern Times Sheppard, Lancelot C. (Lancelot Capel) 1967 143 43 True and False Possession Lhermitte, Jean Mar-63 101 44 Mary The Mother of God Suenens, Léon Joseph Oct-59 27 45 The Devotion to Our Lady Graef, Hilda C. Aug-63 106 46 What is a Saint? Douillet, Jacques Oct-58 3 47 What is an Angel? Régamey, P.-R. (Pie-Raymond) Jan-60 33

Section V. The Life of Faith + Listing of Volumes Published for Section V Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 48 What is the Church? Bovis, André de Nov-61 77 49 What is a Sacrament? Piault, Bernard Oct-63 110 50 Christian Initiation McCormack, Arthur 1969 147 51 Penance and Absolution Barton, John M. T. (John Mackintosh Tilney) Apr-61 63 52 What is the Eucharist? Nicolas, Maria Iosephus Aug-60 47 53 What is a Priest? Lécuyer, Joseph Jul-59 21 54 Christian Marriage Fabrègues, Jean de Dec-59 31 55 Death and the Christian Didier, Jean-Charles Mar-61 61 56 What is Christian Life? Liégé, Pierre André Nov-61 78 57 The Enigma of the Stigmata Biot, René Dec-62 97 58 Christian Ethics Hawkins, D. J. B. (Denis John Bernard) Dec-63 113 59 Christianity and Money Leclercq, Jacques May-59 17

Section VI. The Word of God

+ Listing of Volumes Published for Section VI Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 60 What is the Bible? Daniel-Rops, Henri Sep-58 1 61 The Promised Land Blanchard, Raoul; Du Buit, F. M. (François Michel) Sep-66 137 62 Biblical Archaeology Du Buit, F. M. (François Michel) Dec-60 55 63 Biblical Criticism Steinmann, Jean Dec-58 8 64 God's Word At Mass Koenig, John H. Jan-67 139 65 The Religion of Israel Gelin, Albert 1959 16 66 The Prophets Dheilly, Joseph 1960 56 67 The Sources for the Life of Christ Amiot, F. (François), P.S.S.; Danielou, Jean, S.J.; Brunot, Amedee, S.C.J.; Daniel-Rops, Henri Aug-62 92 68 The Life of Our Lord Daniel-Rops, Henri Nov-64 125 69 What is the Gospel? Paupert, Jean-Marie Oct-62 95 70 St. Paul and His Message Brunot, Amédée Jul-59 22 71 The Old Testament Apocrypha Dimier, Catherine Jun-64 120 72 The New Testament Apocrypha Hervieux, Jacques Nov-60 53 73 Judaism Démann, Paul Aug-61 72

Section VII. The History of the Church + Listing of Volumes Published for Section VII Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 74 Christian Beginnings Zeiller, Jacques Nov-60 54 75 The Dawn of the Middle Ages Palanque, Jean-Rémy Sep-60 50 76 The Early Middle Ages Guillemain, Bernard Jul-60 46 77 The Later Middle Ages Guillemain, Bernard Jun-60 44 78 The Revolt against the Church Cristiani, Léon Jun-62 88 79 The Age of Absolutism Braure, Maurice Dec-63 114

Section VIII. The Organization of the Church

+ Listing of Volumes Published for Section VIII Volume Title Author(s) Date Publication Order 80 What is Canon Law? Metz, Rene Jan-60 34 81 The Papacy Ormesson, Wladimir, comte d' Feb-59 12 82 The Ecumenical Councils Dvornik, Francis Jan-61 57 83 What is a Bishop? Urtasun, Joseph Aug-62 91 84 What is a Cardinal? Lierde, Petrus Canisius van, Bp., and Giraud, Alexandre Jul-64 122 85 Religions Orders of Men Canu, Jean Feb-60 36 86 Religions Orders of Women Malard, Suzanne Oct-64 123 87 Secular Institutes Reidy, Gabriel May-62 85 88 The Catholic Spirit Rétif, André Jun-59 19

Section IX. The Church and the Modern World