The History of the Catholic Church

The new pedagogical approach of The History of the Catholic Church—part of the entire Encountering Jesus series—has a number of distinct features.


Contemporary news stories that connect recent events in the Church and the world to a particular period in history, lead to chapter focus questions that students will be responsible to remember and answer both through the coverage of the chapter, to the end of the course, and beyond. Several different applications, assignments, and projects offered in a variety of learning styles allow the teacher to gauge a student’s ability to retain and apply knowledge.


This elective—written in accordance to Option B: History of the Catholic Church from the USCCB Curriculum Framework—is one that can supplement catechesis on the Church that students were introduced to in an earlier course on Ecclesiology. The historical nature of this text lends itself to a wide array of informative infographics and photo essays as well as challenging student assignments. For example, each chapter suggests three assignments meant to be completed over the approximate two-week duration the chapter material is being studied. Research reports, surveys, video presentations, debates, and various art forms are some of the formats and media that make up the chapter assignments.


Finally, text is built around the opportunity introduce new material and foster mastery, while also providing more opportunities for review. This approach—encouraged throughout the Encountering Jesus series—is necessary in a course with a fast-moving and wide scope of content that follows this sequence:


Sanctity and Redemption: Understanding Salvation History as the Time of Christ
The Church’s Divine Origin
The Gospel Spreads Despite Persecution
The Era of the Church Fathers
The Formation of Christendom
The Church in the Midst of Renaissance and the Age of Exploration
The Council of Trent and Catholic Reformation
The Church in the Era of Enlightenment
The Development of Catholic Social Teaching
The Twentieth Century and the Epoch of the Second Vatican Council
The Church in the Twenty-First Century and Beyond



Profiles of faithful Catholic disciples and apologetic questions and answers—both also including follow-up assignments—are included in the online classroom resources folder or this text and are part of every chapter. Prayer suggestions drawn from the periods of historical study offer students opportunities to make an ongoing, reflective commitment to Jesus and his Church.


The History of the Catholic Church is a complete source to share with Catholic high school students the nature and meaning, images, marks, life and ministry, moral life, and role of prayer as they are developed and presented through each era of the Church’s two millennia.