Confronting the Heresy of “The Mythical Body of Christ”: The Life of Dr. Arthur Falls

Arthur Grand Pré Falls (1901–2000) possessed a profound notion of the Catholic Church as the mystical body of Christ that included people of all races, and he fought for this vision of the church through his actions and words. Falls was a black Catholic medical doctor and founder of the Catholic Worker in Chicago, who dedicated his life to trying to integrate Chicago’s Catholic hospitals and schools as well as create a more racially just society in the Chicago area. Falls was involved in a number of historic, but often forgotten, movements that worked towards a more integrated church and society and often played a key role in these movements.