A Light in the Heavens

Pope Leo XIII, while oddly not venerated even as a Servant of God, was one of the most outstanding Roman Pontiffs of all history. Reigning the second longest of any pope (25 years), he was prophesied long ago to be the titular "Light in the Heavens". And thus he became; Pope Leo XIII was one of the deftest and most careful opponents of modern errors. Without slipping into reactionary tendencies, he always kept his cool, as it were—certainly meriting the prophetic name. Intensely Marian, he wrote eleven encyclicals on the Rosary, and promoted the scapular. He also condemned Freemasonry, laissez-faire capitalism, communism and socialism, while teaching a balanced and truly Christian approach to social progress. He also composed and imposed the renowned St. Michael prayer, having experienced a vision about the terrors to befall the Church in the next century.

Here then is a collection of 30 of Pope Leo XIII's greatest encyclicals, spanning the spectrum of issues facing Catholics in modernity. It is remarkable how very applicable these magisterial documents are for today's harried Catholic. A Light in the Heavens will be just that to you, providing the guidance of this gifted and highly underrated, yet immensely important, Holy Father into your hands for long years to come.