The Grail Movement and American Catholicism, 1940-75

Inspired by a Dutch Jesuit, the Grail movement, a lay apostolate for women, flourished in Europe before corning to the United States in 1940. In the succeeding two decades, it established itself firmly within the American Catholic avant-garde as an attractive alternative to the convent, a pioneer in liturgical renewal, and a champion of the lay apostolate. The Grail Movement and American Catholicism, 1940-1975 chronicles this remarkable community of women who devoted themselves to a life of worship and faith and to creating a new world in Christ. As Alden V. Brown demonstrates, these women’s importance to American Catholic history does not lie solely in their unique purpose, but in the movement itself, which in microcosm mirrored the changes that overtook the American Catholic Church in this century. This ground-breaking study of the Grail movement invites further study of an important part of American Catholic history, namely, the study of the Catholic laity. Brown traces the evolution of the movement from its origins as the Women of Nazareth Society in Holland through its development in the States as an emergent lay Catholicism for women. He then goes on to discuss the Grail’s post Vatican II period when the movement underwent a strict reevaluation of its principles in response to the challenges of the 1960s, substantially revising its outlook on the role of women and the relationship of religion and the modern world. In preparing this work, Brown spent three months at the Grail headquarters in Loveland, Ohio. He was the first person allowed access to Grail records and interviewed many Grail members including the Grail’s American co-founder, Lydwine Van Kersbergen. Extensively researched and highly readable, this work will interest the specialist as well as the general reader.