The Great Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII: Volume Two—The Spiritual Letters

By Pope Leo XIII | Compiled and Introduced by Leo L. Clarke

The reign of Pope Leo XIII is the fourth-longest of any papacy in the two-thousand-year history of the Catholic Church. Over the course of a full quarter-century, Leo XIII courageously engaged with the modern world, asserting the Church’s authority and wisdom in the face of unprecedented challenges and confusion. He was also a prolific author, issuing a total of eighty-six encyclical letters on matters both spiritual and social. Compiled and engagingly introduced by Leo L. Clarke, The Great Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII comprises—across two volumes—thirty-one of those letters, to present the vibrant and courageous insights of this great shepherd to an age with a pronounced need of hearing and heeding his message.

Volume Two: The Spiritual Letters contains seventeen of Leo XIII’s encyclicals dedi­cated to strengthening the Church in faith and in practice, including the out­standing Aeterni patris (on the restoration of Christian philosophy), Arcanum divinae (on Christian marriage), and Providentissimus Deus (on the study of Holy Scripture), and crowned with select letters on the Holy Rosary.

For beyond the mere name of Christian, beyond the mere profession of faith, Christian virtues are necessary for the Christian, and upon this depends, not only the eternal salvation of their souls, but also the peace and prosperity of the human family and brotherhood. (Pope Leo XIII)

Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903) served as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. His papacy enacted a grand program of renovation and expansion of the Catholic Church, firmly grounded in her “holy and venerable authority.”

Leo L. Clarke spent his professional career as a lawyer, law professor, and business exec­utive. His scholarship has centered on cyberlaw, law and economics, and Catholic social teaching; the last exemplified in his book, Man and the Economy.

Paperback

Pages: 308