Tradivox Vol 8

From the brief “penny” catechisms of the 16th century to our own late 20th-century Catechism, scores of faithful priests, bishops, popes, saints, and even Church Councils have for Catholics young and old published succinct, reliable summaries of our Church’s perennial teachings: catechisms.

In them, readers have encountered Catholic doctrine presented in refreshingly clear and even elegant language, often accompanied by handsome woodcuts on lovely pages.

Now, for the first time ever, dozens of historic catechisms are being unearthed and painstakingly restored. They are being reformatted for publication and presented to you in this gorgeous 20-volume, cross-indexed collection.

What’s in Volume VIII:

Two of the greatest Italian catechisms have been paired together for the first time in Volume 8 of the Tradivox collection, composed by authors renowned for their excellent teaching as well as their outstanding holiness.

The first is A Dogmatic Catechism, first published in 1842 by Ven. Fr. Giuseppe Frassinetti and regarded as one of the clearest and most compelling Italian presentations of the Faith in that century. From an early age, Ven. Frassinetti had a reputation for remarkable holiness and even brilliance, coming from a family of such faith and devotion that he and his three brothers all became priests, and his sister a religious foundress and canonized saint. Known as “the Italian Cure of Ars” in his own time, a contemporary priest would say of Ven. Frassinetti’s doctrinal instructions: “they combine solid doctrine with a quality rarely to be found, that of adaptation to the capacities of all. There is in them a union of devotion and spiritual affectionateness with discretion, in no way inferior to the sweet spirit of St. Francis de Sales.” His catechism is thorough and detailed, and may be regarded as prophetic in many places, as he anticipates a number of heretical errors that would not be systematically condemned until decades later.

The second catechism in this volume is that Pope St. Pius X, first published in 1905 as Compendium of Christian Doctrine, which still remains one of the most beloved “short catechisms” ever printed. As Pope Benedict XVI observed in 2010: “Because of its simple, clear, precise language and effective explanations, this Pius X Catechism, as it was called, was a reliable guide to many in learning the truths of the faith,” and remains so today. Because many different works are currently in circulation claimi