No nation, institution, empire or dynasty has helped shape the world more than the Catholic Church. Armies have marched upon one another. Kings have risen and fallen. Ideological and political movements have taken hold of entire continents. Diseases and plagues have ravished millions.

And through it all, Holy Mother Church has endured, standing as the one source of light in a world so often covered by shadows. In this thrilling narrative, Phillip Campbell, author of the best-selling Story of Civilization series, takes children on a journey through Church history, beginning at Pentecost when Peter and the other apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and preached in the streets of Jerusalem, all the way through the pontificate of John Paul II and into modern times. Campbell's storybook style brings the narrative to life for young readers, taking them back in time and awakening a love and appreciation for history. Children will discover: - The triumphs and struggles of the early Church

• The heroic stories of the martyrs
• An army of saints who witnessed to Christ, including Benedict, Augustine, Francis, Dominic, Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Siena, Thomas More, The Little Flower, Maximilian Kolbe, and more.
• Popes who helped shape Church teaching through encyclicals and councils, including Leo XIII, Pius IX, and John Paul II
• Crusaders who fought for Christendom
• Marian apparitions like Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima

• How events like the Protestant Reformation, the Avignon Papacy, and the Second Vatican Council affected the Church and the world.

  Through it all, young readers will see how the Church remained in the world but not of it, surviving wars, heresies, and the rule of tyrants, and keeping her arms spread ever open to welcome wounded souls into the Body of Christ.