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 III: This volume contains the Catechisms of Bishop Richard Challoner, who served as Vicar Apostolic of London during one of the most discouraging periods in English Catholic history, due to the oppressive penal laws criminalizing Catholic faith and worship throughout the 1700s. Like a new Saint Athanasius, Bishop Challoner ministered in those days with an unmatched apostolic zeal, strengthening the Church against nearly impossible odds and achieving so much for the good of souls that he is regarded by many as the single most outstanding figure in English Catholicism.