Hero in the Storm

I welcome this return of Mark Fellows to the publishing world. More than a mere chronicler of ecclesial history, Fellows is a true story-teller, a master of literary style who writes with the passion of a Catholic soul. A glance at any page of this new work will show that it is an important contribution to understanding at the deepest level the situation in which we now find ourselves since the conquering march of the zeitgeist made its way into the Church at Vatican II. -Christopher Ferrara, author of Liberty, the God That Failed There is no doubt in my mind that the path forward for Catholics in the post-conciliar era demands a thorough understanding of the pontificate and legacy of Pope Pius IX. One simply cannot grasp the significance of calling the documents of Vatican-II a ""counter-Syllabus"" without first understanding the impetus behind the Syllabus of Errors itself, nor can one make sense of the Revolution of today without first placing it within the broader context of the Revolution of the tumultuous 19th century. It is certain that the trajectory of the post-conciliar period of the Catholic Church will hinge on the legacy we make of Pope Pius IX and the documents, ideas, and actions of his pontificate. Mark Fellows in Hero in the Storm makes an excellent contribution to this effort, with vivid accounts of the Fall of Rome, the charged atmosphere behind the First Vatican Council and a comprehensive vision of the 19th-century Papal States, Fellows provides the reader with a sense of clarity, depth, and familiarity with the life and times of Pope Pius IX. -Murray W. Rundus, Managing Editor, Catholic Family News