Books

Gemma Simmonds is a sister of the Congregation of Jesus, a bye-fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge, director of the Religious Life Institute at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology at Cambridge, and past president of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain. Part of her purpose in writing these reflections was to help readers understand the links between the different Mass... Read More

African Synodal Theology: A Tall Tree Is as Strong as Its Roots. Agbonkhianmeghe E Orobator , SJ. Publisher: Orbis, New York The invention of the imagined social reality of geographies far from European corridors of power has always been challenging for Catholicism's central institutions: Pope Leo X (1475 -1521) kept a pet Indian elephant in the Vatican Gardens, which fascinated Rome, and is said ... Read More

Spirituality Squared - the latest book by Prof Mgr Vladimir Felzmann, was launched last night in an event at Our Lady of Victories Parish Hall, Kensington. In an exclusive article for ICN here - Fr Vlad writes. There are three motivators that have caused me to write this book: 'Spirituality Squared'. The first is a desire to clarify in my own mind what I really think about my relationships, my sp... Read More

David Neuhaus SJ's Conquest or Leaven is a deeply personal and challenging reflection on Christianity, Palestine/Israel, and the role of the Catholic Church in a land scored by conflict. Not an easy read, situated as it is within an ongoing genocide, it is made warm and engaging by Neuhaus's style featuring lots of personal anecdotes and biography. The heart of the book, however, is a penetrating ... Read More

Do you ever struggle to pray the Rosary? Join the Catholic Truth Society next Friday for a special evening dedicated to the Rosary, with special guest Alexander Gray Muir, author of our brand-new book The Rosary: A Prayer Full of Grace. With a live episode of the Into the Truth podcast, a Q&A, and book signings, you'll learn to meditate more deeply upon Christ's mysteries in the Rosary. What ... Read More

The Story of Christian Art - From the Dawn of Time to the Present, by Fr Patrick van der Vorst. Publisher: Lion Books. With stunning reproductions of major artworks on nearly every page, this is a book that both informs the mind and nourishes the soul. From the haunting images in the catacombs to the sacred halls of Gothic cathedrals and the bustling streets of Renaissance Europe, The Story of Chr... Read More

The Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM) trained, placed and supported well over 2500 volunteer lay missionaries to work in Africa, Central and South America and Southeast Asia in a variety of roles in education, health and social services, diocesan and community development, including a number of people from the Diocese of Hallam. A recently published short history of VMM written by Martin Desforg... Read More

Image, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, in partnership with Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), will publish the English edition of The Private Diary of Pope Francis by Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on 24 November 2026 in North America and in all formats. The Private Diary of Pope Francis is an extraordinary glimpse i... Read More

A Strange Way Home, by Mark Coleridge - Connor Court Publishing Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane in Australia has not had the media coverage in the UK - or political champions - of Cardinal George Pell and Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney. Pell, a climate change sceptic was a regular at London's neo - liberal Institute for Economic Affairs and a known critic of Pope Francis. Fisher, an eth... Read More

In the world of social ethics and political theology it is not often that two inspiring, thoughtful and fresh new books with wide relevance come along at the same time: Clemens Sedmak's superb new work: Enacting Mercy: Pope Francis and an Ethics of Institutions (Orbis) and Chris Shanahan's Life on the Breadline: Theology, Poverty and Politics in an Age of Austerity (SCM Press) are though two such ... Read More

For some reason, I had never read anything about or by St Thérèse of Lisieux until I read Fr Joseph Spence's Learning How to Love with St Therese. This was despite the fact that Pauline Sexton, my wonderful sponsor when I was welcomed into full communion with the Catholic Church in Maidstone in 1982, had a deep devotion to the saint, and that I later attended Mass at St Theresa's, Horn's Cross, ... Read More

The English version of Pope Leo XIV's book 'Freedom Under Grace: Reflections on the Spiritual Tradition That Formed Me,' has been released in the US, UK, Australia, and across the Commonwealth. 'Freedom Under Grace' brings together the Holy Father's reflections on the legacy of St Augustine that have shaped his spirituality and vision for the world. In addition to being the first-ever Pope from th... Read More

Catholic Prayers: A Prayer for Every Need, 700+ Authentic Prayers from Scripture, the Saints and the Church - for Healing, Protection, Strength, Family, Work and Every Season of Life. Published by Modern Life Press. This new Catholic prayer book, compiled by Thomas Cox at Modern Life Studio, brings together authentic prayers from the church, saints and Catholic teaching and I'd designed to be acc... Read More

A new book by Dr Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ - A Time to Reflect: Meditations Through The Year Based on Year B of the Catholic Lectionary has just been published by SPCK. This rich and accessible collection of reflections and prayers follows the Roman Catholic lectionary, covering Sundays and major feast days including Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the Annunciation, Ascension, and Corpus Christi. E... Read More