"SACRAMENTO AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH", FATHER STEVEN AVELLA'S NEW BOOK.........

One of the extra special experiences working with Father Jerry Ryle at St. Philomene's the past two and a half years has been the opportunity to come to know and interact with Father Steven Avella, who like Jerry and I grew up in Sacramento and is a professor of Religion, American Life, and the West, at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In recent years Father Steve has spent appreciable time on breaks from the university doing priestly ministry in the Sacramento area parishes of St. Rose, Roseville; St. Lawrence, North Highlands; St. Christopher, Galt; St. Philomene, Arden-Arcade. A powerfully persuasive preacher, Father Steve is an avid student of the history of the Church of Sacramento. On June 12, Father Steve launched his latest book, "Sacramento And The Catholic Church : Shaping a Capital City". , at the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center. A standing room only, overflow, group of Father Steve's friends and fans were in attendance that night. His book captures with vivid detail and copious research of historical records, the ways in which from the Gold Rush and the 1850's to the present, the City and the Church have interacted with one another in the development of Sacramento as an urban community. This book makes a very worthwhile contribution to a better understanding of the dynamics of the secular and religious values of Sacramento as the Capital City of California. When I say getting to know and interact with Father Steve is one of the special experiences of my life, I truly mean it. Whether it is reading his books, concelebrating Mass with him, or spending an evening at table feeding on his words, insights and depth of knowledge, about our local historical roots of faith, politics and culture, and how they have affected the development of Catholic-Christianity in the life of Sacramento, it is always joyfully rewarding.
I strongly recommend his book, "Sacramento And The Catholic Church", to everyone who wants a clearer, deeper, appreciation of Sacramento's history. And if or when, Father Steven Avella presides or preaches at Mass in your parish, savor the special experience it is, and know you and others present with him will be better for it.........Father Troy