Diocesan News

Only in Print: With Book Clubs, Catholics Read It and Reap | February 8, 2020

Sister Margaret Michael Gillis F.S.P., moderates a book club discussion at Pauline Books & Media, the only Catholic bookstore in Manhattan. (Photo: courtesy of the Daughters of Saint Paul)

BAY RIDGE — “Take and read.” The words that St. Augustine once received in a divine message are taken literally by parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn and many Catholics throughout New York City who belong to Catholic-based book clubs.

One such book club is at Our Lady of Angels Parish, Bay Ridge, where Phyllis Vitolo, the club’s leader, said God can been seen at work in the connections the group builds.

“People from all over come, from Flatbush area, women, men,” she said. “Some people are not Catholic, they just know each other,” and they come together to read popular fiction and nonfiction books…


The rest of this article can be found exclusively in the Feb. 8 printed version of The Tablet. You can buy it at church for $1, or you can receive future editions of the paper in your mailbox at a discounted rate by subscribing here. Thank you for supporting Catholic journalism.