Author Archives: theamericanplutarch
Jean Baptiste Lamy (1814-1888), Missionary Bishop on Horseback
Visitors to downtown Santa Fe are drawn to two majestic buildings, the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi and the Chapel of the Loretto Sisters. Little would one suspect today that the founder of these two buildings, indeed the father … Continue reading
Juniper Berthiaume (1744-?) French Missionary to the Penobscot Tribe
Pope Francis said on his Apostolic Journey to Canada in July 2022, “I have been waiting to come here and be with you! Here, from this place associated with painful memories, I would like to begin what I consider a … Continue reading
Missionary John Thayer
John Thayer (1755-1815) was a New England convert, educated at Yale where he was taught that all things Roman Catholic were despicable. Then he went to Europe and underwent a conversion—a most unexpected religious change. He wrote a book about … Continue reading
Junipero Serra: Work and Prayer
Franciscan Junipero Serra (1713-1784), one of the founders of Catholicism in California, should he miraculously walk the paths of California today (on tired, sore, bare feet, for he believed in the practice of mortification), he would be astonished at the … Continue reading
Louis Hennepin (1626-1704), Missionary of Hope
When a person thinks back to the colonial American past imagining what the first Catholic missionaries who braved the elements, journeyed into the forests, and canoed down American rivers, must have been like, they are thinking of such a person … Continue reading
Martyr for Christ: Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649)
The images of the great martyrs of the past, those disciples and followers of Christ who committed their all—body and soul—to the Great Commission, to spread the word to all creatures worldwide, inspired Jean de Brébeuf as a young man … Continue reading
The Sorrels Family Orchestra
Ephraim Deals (Deal) Sorrels, Arkansas farmer and woodcutter, was a singer and perhaps a fiddler–at least it is clear he had a musical bent. And Van, his son, took after his father. Whether or not Van was a singer is … Continue reading
Van Sorrels, the Woodcutting Musician
As the woodcutter sawed and chopped and hewed oak, hickory, maple, and pine, he sang songs to the past, to the land, and to the Lord. His name was Van. He was a simple man. He could read and write … Continue reading
The Mirror of the Past is found in Books
The mirror of the past is the only way to peer at the image of what is human. The reflection is darkened by time and sin. Specters of the dead, haunting the dusty stacks of long-ago thoughts, turn up repeatedly, … Continue reading
Books by Russell M. Lawson
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0977244806 American Catholics: An Encyclopedic History: Beginning with North America’s contact with three imperialist powers (Spain, France, and England), this narrative account tells the story of how Catholicism became and continues to be part of the basic religious and cultural … Continue reading
