Abstract

For the twenty year period after World War II, Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C. (1909–1992) became an international “superstar” as he traversed all the habitable continents of the world proclaiming a message of family unity and prayer through the rosary. Recovering somewhat miraculously from a near fatal bout with tuberculosis as a seminarian, Peyton dedicated his fifty year ministry as a Holy Cross priest to promoting devotion to the Blessed Version Mary utilizing a simple but profound message, “The family that prays together stays together.” Beginning in 1948, his international crusades drew millions, making him a household name in Catholic circles. His ministry, while standing as a good example of the post war evangelistic spirit in American religion, as typified by notables such as Billy Graham, was rather unique for Catholics and, therefore, significant in U.S. Church history.

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