Nothing Unusual Here…

In his superb book American Catholic, Charles Morris argues that Catholicism in the pre-Vatican II era was as much as culture as a religion. One of the most visible aspects of that culture were the numerous Holy Name Societies that dominated Catholic men’s life. Founded by the Dominicans in the thirteenth century to venerate the name of Jesus, the Holy Name Society was introduced to the United States in the 1860’s. By the 1950’s there were over two thousand societies in the United States, and it was common for most men in the parish to be members. During the first half of the twentieth century, dioceses held Holy Name rallies that attracted crowds of 60,00-100,000 Catholic men. And this wasn’t seen as anything unusual. Seen here is an archdiocesan rally held at Randall’s Island, New York City, in 1936.