About this Issue

By happy coincidence, our two main articles in this issue both focus on Catholic missionary activity. In our lead article, Charles Strauss (Mount St. Mary's University) delves into the history of Jesuit and Maryknoll missionary work in Central America during the 1940s and 1950s. Drawing on three case studies, he argues in favor of viewing developments through the lens of "empire," which calls attention to multilayered and multivocal patterns of human and institutional exchange and reveals complex power dynamics. The work helps place American missionary activity within a broader global framework.

Our second article, by Emily Suzanne Clark (Gonzaga University), turns our attention to the domestic field and explores the intercultural dynamics at play between Jesuit missionaries and native peoples on Alaska's Seward Peninsula coast during the early twentieth century. Her research reveals how successful evangelization efforts relied on a fluidity between Catholicism and indigenous cultural values and religious practice.

Also featured in this issue is a Review Symposium of Kathleen Sprows Cummings's stimulating new book, A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American, which recounts the history of the various causes for canonization advanced by U.S. Catholics during the past century and a half. We thank her and our four expert reviewers for agreeing to participate in the symposium. Their conversation encourages us to think more deeply about the ways in which saint-seeking has reflected broader dynamics at play within U.S. Catholicism.

Our cover essay by Timothy R. Neary (Salve Regina University) recalls the life and legacy of Chicago's Bishop Bernard J. Sheil, the founder of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and a major champion of racial justice, the rights of labor, and other liberal causes during the middle decades of the twentieth century. This profile marks the fiftieth anniversary of Sheil's death and offers a reflection on the exercise of leadership within the church.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that American Catholic Studies has again earned numerous awards from the Catholic Press Association, including several honors for our articles and reviews. We thank all our authors and reviewers for their contributions to the journal and their continued commitment to advancing the field of American Catholic studies.