December 12, 2025
On July 4, 2026, Americans will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation. That's a major milestone ! But did you know that the legacy of the Catholic Church in the United States goes back more than 500 years ? Catholics founded the city of St. Augustine, Florida in 1561. The first Catholic Mass was celebrated in Maryland in 1634. But of all the people to sign the Declaration of Independence, there was only one who was a Catholic, Charles Carroll.
Catholics surely experienced their fair share of discrimination in America, but by the mid-20th century, Catholics were on the rise in the United States, ascending in power and influence. Did you know that as Hollywood was being established in the 1930's, there was something called the National Legion of Decency ? This was a group organized by the Archbishop of Cincinnati in 1934. It's purpose was to identify content in films that would undermine Christian morality, and to warn Catholics not to support those films. Other Christian Churches joined in, and this group, which comprised many Protestant allies, was so powerful that the boycotting of certain films could completely harpoon that film's chances of success.
In the 1950s, Bishop Fulton Sheen, now Venerable Fulton Sheen, could be seen on television every Tuesday night, preaching about God, Christianity and Christian values. Fr. Patrick Peyton, now Venerable Patrick Peyton, was leading rosaries in the early 1960s that were attended by millions of people. His rosary rally in San Francisco in the early 1960's attracted 500,00 people, in Colombia 1 million, in Rio de Janeiro 1.5 million, and in Sao Paulo 2 million.
Catholic influence in the United States perhaps reached its apex in 1961, with the election of our first and only Catholic president, John F. Kennedy. He was assassinated two years later. After that, Catholic political and cultural influence was definitely on the wane, perhaps reaching its nadir almost exactly 40 years later, in January of 2002, when the Boston Globe published its "spotlight" investigative series reporting on widespread sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Now, Jesus assures us in Luke 17 that: "...there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light." It is good to expose evil and corruption, and it is good to face the facts of our history, as Christians, Catholics, and Americans without whitewashing reality.
But in the wake of all this, we Christians who were born in the late 20th century can be led to wonder if our best days aren't behind us. We have seen the closing down of the Catholic schools of our youth. We've seen our churches, whether Catholic or Protestant, turned into rock-climbing gyms and five-star restaurants, or dance clubs. We wonder why we can't watch Netflix for more than four minutes without hearing Our Lord's name being taken in vain (and why every show seems to be about adultery and murder). We notice that, almost every time we see a priest or a Christian pastor in a movie, he is depicted as some kind of creep!
One must wonder: Why does the "spotlight" only seem to want to reveal the worst of us, the worst in us ? (And how have Epstein and his conspirators been able to evade the "spotlight" for so long ? Asking for a friend...) Moreover, is there nothing of the past that we should be encouraged to appreciate, to celebrate, to take heart in, to be proud of ? Is it all hypocrisy, brutality, and corruption ? Must it all be put down and torn down in order to "build back better"?
With rapid changes in technology, increased migration, a global economy, and shifting demographics, some Americans feel like our history and heritage is getting lost in a generic amalgam. I, for one, recently went back to the town I lived in in high school: It felt like a foreign country. I am not saying that is good or bad; but it certainly gave new meaning to the saying: "You can't go home again." Was there something of that place and that time that "should" have been preserved ? And if so, how ? Are these changes "natural" or were they planned and socially engineered, and if so, to what purpose ? If I ask these questions, am I a racist or a Christian nationalist, an extremist or a xenophobe ? If I wish to celebrate something in the past, does that make me a regressive bigot?
Many of us are wondering what it means to be an American. Some say it's just an idea. Others say it's a way of life. Yet other say it's a set of values. We ask: How can we Christians, whether Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical or Protestant, live out our faith in an increasingly secular world, a "Post-Christian" culture ? Truthfully, many Americans are having a full blown identity crisis.
In a recent article in Crisis Magazine "Back to the Caves," Anthony Esolen writes about "a world that has become a hollowed-out set of institutions wearing the skin suit of the now-dead body of Western Civilization." He phrases the question thus: "What ought we do as Catholics living in the ruins?" (I would add: as Christians living in the ruins.)
I have an answer I wish to propose.
But first, a bit more from Esolen: "Attendance at Mass has plummeted since that New Springtime for the Church, heralded by the Second Vatican Council. There has been no springtime. Indeed, in no area of human culture has there been any such-not in the fine arts, film, literature, education, social institutions, civic life, folkways; not in the ordinary interchanges of human beings outside of their homes; not even in life within the home. People have not turned from the Church to the mosque, or to the Order of Raccoons, or to some weekly meeting of armchair philosophers. They have turned to nothing at all; or to worse than nothing, the antisocial life of social media, where all is rancor, pride, and spite...The glory of God is man fully alive; the boast of Satan is to reduce man to less than man, to deaden him within, to get him to prance with pride while he becomes pettier, more predictable; to replace him with automatism, as if he were aspiring with all his tiny heart to become a machine."
Unless you've been living in a cave for the past 25 years, Esolen's description of modern-day, American life probably resonates. So we ask again: What ought we do as Catholics, Christians, living in the ruins of post-Christian culture?
I have an idea. It relates to another milestone.
December 11th marks the 100th anniversary of Quas Primas, the papal encyclical published by Pope Pius XI about the institution of the Feast of Christ the King. In the Catholic Church, this feast day is now celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, before Advent begins. Whether you're Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, or Evangelical Christian, I highly recommend you read it. I had all my students read it this year!
Pope Pius XI writes:
The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God.[35] If all these truths are presented to the faithful for their consideration, they will prove a powerful incentive to perfection.
What if we put a spotlight on those Americans who, though human just like us, formed their lives after the true Christian ideal ? - who let Christ reign in their minds, wills, hearts, and bodies?
What if we provided an antidote to "the antisocial life of social media," by infusing social media with examples of "the glory of God in man fully alive"?
The beautiful thing about studying the lives of the saints is that you see that they are all so completely original ! To paraphrase C.S. Lewis: The thing about sin is that it is always the same; all dysfunctional families are the same...but holiness is unique to each person who embodies it. The saints, while reading the same Gospel and confessing the same faith, are anything but predictable.
This is partially because no point in time, no era of history, is exactly like any other. Each saint had to figure out how best to live out his or her faith in such a way as to meet the particular challenges of his or her own day. By studying the lives of the saints, we can see how people in a state of grace rose to meet this challenges; and we can be encouraged that the Gospel is for all men, everywhere, in all times. We can be inspired by their creativity, their boldness, their risk-taking, their trust in God, their prayerfulness, their personal sacrifice, and more.
We have a new class at Teach to the Text launching in 2026 called " America: Course of Empire, Kingdom of Saints," that allows students, young and old, to study American history through the lives of seven American saints (and possible future saints): The North American Martyrs (d. 1642-1649), St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), Ven. Augustus Tolton (1854-1897), St. Xavier Frances Cabrini (1850-1917), St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), and Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979). Students will read primary text material from their lives and times. The course is being created by Claudio Salvucci, a Catholic and scholar of early American history, and it will be available for purchase starting this spring as a "self-paced" course for book clubs (teen and adult), private school high school classes, homeschooling co-ops, and church groups. We want all who wish to better understand the legacy of Catholics in the United States to be inspired by those who lived a life of heroic virtue and holiness.
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation, to honor our Catholic heritage in the United States, and to spread awareness of this new course, we are running a social media promotion called: " Imitate Your Favorite American Saint." The winning group will receive free enrollment in our 14-week course for up to 25 people ! You can find more information here.
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram @TeachtotheText or in our sister group on Facebook: American Saints, Blesseds, Venerables, and Servants of God. By following us, you'll get to discover new American saints and future saints, learn about their life and times, be inspired by their examples, and receive, in the words of Pope Pius XI, a powerful incentive to perfection.
This upcoming year, let's put the spotlight on faithful Christians who lived lives of holiness, served Christ the King, and helped to shape our great nation!