Diocesan News

What the Diocese Is Reading This Summer

The American Spirit
The Fragility of Order
Three days in Moscow
I'm Keith hernandez
Leonardo da Vinci
Promise Me, Dad

“The Fisherman’s Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican’s Secret Search,” by John O’Neill

“The Fourth Cup: Unveiling the Mystery of the Last Supper and the Cross,” by Scott Hahn

“The Borgias: The Hidden History,” by GJ Meyer

“The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times,” by George Weigel

Msgr. Steven Aguggia

Judicial Vicar, Diocese of Brooklyn


“The Which Way Tree,” by Elizabeth Crook

“Beautiful Animals,” by Lawrence Osborne

“Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee

“The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley,” by Hannah Tinti

“Manhattan Beach,” by Jennifer Egan

“Less,” by Andrew Sean Greer

“Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward

“Salvage the Bones,” by Jesmyn Ward

“Another Brooklyn,” by Jacqueline Woodson

“Swing Time,” by Zadie Smith

“The North Water,” by Ian McGuire

“News of the World,” by Paulette Jiles

“The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead

Steven Bellafiore

Cathedral College, 1969


“Woolsey,” by John Matusiak

“Grant,” by Ron Chernow

“President McKinley,” by Robert Merry

Msgr. John Bracken

St. Genevcieve’s, Rockaway Point


“Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. And the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,” by David J. Garrow

“Forged in Fiery Furnace: African American Spirituality,” by Diana L. Hayes

“The Life of Luigi Giussani,” by Alberto Savorano

“So You Want to Talk about Race,” by Ijeoma Oluo

“Heroic Catholic Chaplains: Stories of the Brave and Holy Men Who Dodged Bullets While Saving Souls,” by Thomas J. Craughwell

“Navy Priest: The Life of Captain Jake Laboon, SJ,” by Richard Gribble

“Gaudete et Exsultate: On the Call to Holiness,” by Pope France

Father Mark C. Bristol

St. Anastasia Parish, Douglaston


“Building A Bridge,” by Father James Martin, S.J.

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,” by Lynne Truss

Joe Brostek

St. Kevin’s parish, Flushing


“Teaching and Learning the Love of God: Being a Priest Today,” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

“God in Public: How the Bible Speaks Truth to Power Today,” by NT Wright

“Enthusiasm: A Chapter in the History of Religion,” by Ronald Knox

“Exiles: A Novel,” by Ron Hansen

“Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces,” by Myles Unger

Father Michael J.S. Bruno, S.T.D.

Professor, St. Joseph’s Seminary 


“A Pastor’s Toolbox (Vol. 2), More Management Skills for Parish Leadership,” by Paul A. Holmes

“God Isn’t Finished With Me Yet, Discovering the Graces of Later Life,” by Barbara Lee

“The Lost Art of Walking on Water, Reimagining the Priesthood,” by Michael Heher

Bishop Raymond Chappetto

Vicar General

Pastor, St. Kevin’s parish, Flushing


“Faith Comes From What is Heard: An Introduction to Fundamental Theology,” by Lawrence Feingold

“Decoding Vatican II: Interpretation and Ongoing Reception,” by Catherine E. Clifford

“American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America,” by Russell Shaw

“How Few Remain: A Novel of the Second War Between the State,” by Harry Turtledove

“American War,”by Omar El Akkad

“Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World,” by Eric Metaxas

“Catherine of Siena,” by Sigrid Unset

– Father John P. Cush, STD

Academic Dean, Pontifical North American College, Vatican City-State


“The Miarcle of Father Kapaun,” by Roy Wenzl and Travis Heying

“A Man For Others: Maximilian Kolbe the Saint of Auschwitz,” by Patrice Treece

“The Power of Silence,” by Cardinal Robert Sarah

Donna Czak

Sacred Heart, East Glendale


“Goodnight from London,” by Jennifer Robson

“The Man in the High Castle,” by Philip K. Dick

“The Wives of Los Alamos,” by TaraShea Nesbit

Laura DePalma

Producer, DeSales Media Group


“Things That Matter,” by Charles Krauthammer

“The Imitation of Christ,” by Thomas a Kempis

Frank DeRosa

Retired Director of Diocesan Public Information Office


“Dagger John: Archbishop John Hughes and the Making of Irish America,” by John Loughery

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

 Archbishop of New York


“Brooklyn,” by Colm Tóibín

“Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court,” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“Flipping Awesome,” by Christina Torres

“The Robe,” by Lloyd C. Douglas

– Melissa Enaje

Reporter, The Tablet


“Calypso,” by David Sedaris

“The Serpent’s Coil,” by Farley Mowat

“A Shower of Summer Days,” by May Sarton

“The Armchair Birder,” by John Yow

“The Inner Life of Therese of Lisieux,” by Patricia O’Connor

“Wisdom’s Paradise,” by Cheryl Bauer and Rob Portman

Msgr. Steven Ferrari

Pastor, St. Teresa’s parish, Woodside


“When Pride Still Mattered – A Life of Vince Lombardi,” by David Maraniss

“The Fisherman’s Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican’s Secret Search,” by John O’Neill

“In My Brother’s Image,” Eugene Pogany

Father Joseph G. Fonti

Rector-President, Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary


“Circe,” by Madeline Miller

“A Corner of the World,” by Mylene Fernández-Pintado

“Dreams of My Father,” by Barack Obama

“Perfume Dreams. Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora,” by Andrew Lam

– Dr. Virginia Franklin

Associate Professor of English

St. Francis College


“The Ninth Hour,” by Alice McDermott

“The Soul of America,” by Jon Meacham

“The New Jerome Commentary”

Father Brian Jordan, OFM

Chaplain, St. Francis College


“Leonardo Da Vinci,” by Walter Isaacson

“The Outsider,” by Stephen King

“A Legacy of Spies,” by John Le Carre

“Behold the Dreamers,” by Imbolo Mbu

“Belleview,” by David Oshinsky

“Underground Railway,” by Colson Whitehead

– Father Tom Leach

Pastor, Mary Queen of Heaven parish, Mill Basin


“I’m Keith Hernandez: A Memoir,” by Keith Hernandez

Jim Mancari

Tablet Sports Columnist


“Aimee Semple McPherson And The Resurrection Of Christian America,” by Matthew Avery Sutton

“A Sweeper-Up After Artists,” a memoir by Irving Sandler

“Heroes Wanted – Why the World Needs You To Live Your Heart Out,” by Rodney Bullard

Father Frank Mann

St. Martin of Tours, Bushwick


“The Case for Catholic Education: Why Parents, Teachers, and Politicians Should Reclaim the Principles of Catholic Pedagogy,” by Ryan N.S. Topping (Author), Sister John Mary Fleming, O.P. (Foreword)

“The Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler,” by Mark Riebling

“The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times,” by George Weigel

“John Henry Newman: A Portrait in Letters,” Edited by Roderick Strange

“Between Apocalypse and Eschaton: History and Eternity in Henri de Lubac,” by Joseph S. Flipper

Bishop James Massa

Pastor, St. Thomas Aquinas, Park Slope


“The Soul of America,” by Jon Meacham

“The Third Target,” by Joel C. Rosenberg

“A Higher Loyalty,” by James Comey

Matthew Monahan

Public Information Officer

NYS Homes and Community


“The Autobiography of Gucci Mane,” by Gucci Mane and Neil Martinez-Belkin

“Driving Miss Norma: One Family’s Journey Saying ‘Yes’ to Living,” by Tim Bauerschmidt, Ramie Liddle

“Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike,” by Phil Knight

“Fin & Lady,” by Cathleen Schine

Michele Montecalvo

Assistant Professor St. Francis College

Dept. of Biology and Health Sciences


“The Sellout,” by Paul Beatty

“Promise Me, Dad,” by Joseph Biden

“Burial Rites,” by Hannah Kent

“Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind,” by Michael Massing

“Lincoln in the Bardo,” by George Saunders

“My Father’s Wake, How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die,” by Kevin Toolis

Ed Murphy

Cathedral College, 1969


“Camino Island,” by John Grisham

“Dreamland,” by Sam Quinones

“The President is Missing,” by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

“George and Barbara Bush: The Great American Love Story,” by Ellie LeBlond Sosa and Kelly Anne Chase

“Kitchen Confidential,” by Anthony Bourdain

“Nothing to Envy,” by Barbara Demick

“Two Sisters,” by Asne Seierstad

Michelle Powers

Assignment Manager

Desales Media


“Secession and the Politics of the Civil War, 1860-65,” by Warren W. Hassler

“Always a Whig in Politics, The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln,” by Joel H. Silbey

“A View from Afar: Britain Looks at Our War,” by Gary W. Gallagher

“Political and Economic Causes of the American Civil War,” by Frank E. Smith

Peter Purpura

Blessed Trinity parish, Breezy Point


“The Gift of Years,” by Sister Joan Chittister

“The Lost Years,”  by Mary Higgins Clark

Carolyn Quadarella

Professor, St. Francis College


“To Light a Fire on the Earth,” by Bishop Robert Barron and John L. Allen Jr.

“Overkill: The Vatican Trial of Pierre Teilhard deChardin, SJ,” by Neils deTerra

“Heart of the Redeemer,” by Timothy T. O’Donnell

“The Big Idea: How Breakthroughs in the Past Shape the Future,” published by National Geographic

“Higgs: The Invention and Discovery of the ‘God Particle’,” by Jim Baggott

Margaret Riconda

Sacred Heart, Bayside


“The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times,” by George Weigel

“Three Days in Moscow,” by Bret Baier

“I’m Keith Hernandez,” by Keith Hernandez

“News Literacy: The Keys to Combating Fake News,” by Michelle Luhtala and Jacquelyn Whiting

Mike Rizzo

Profesor, School of Journalism

St. John’s University


“If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?  My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating,” by Alan Alda

“Night of the Confessor: Christian Faith in an Age of Uncertainty,” by Tomas Halik

“Holy Simplicity: The Little Way of Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, and Therese Lisieux,”  by Joel Schorn.

“Alfred Kazin’s Journals,” Edited by Richard Cook

“To Heaven Through a Window: The Life of St. Gerard Majella,” by John Carr

Father Ray Roden

Pastor, Our Lady of Sorrows, Corona


“A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles

– Walter Rodier

Cathedral College, 1969


“Dorothy Day, The World Will Be Saved by Beauty,” by Kate Hennessy

“The American Spirit,” by David McCullough

“Why Courage Matters,” by John McCain

“Promise Me, Dad,” by Joe Biden

“Deep Work,” by Cal Newport

Matthew Schiller

Business Manager, Catholic New York, Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New York


“Circe,” by Madeline Miller

“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared,” by Jonas Jonasson, Translated by Rod Bradbury

“The Garden in Every Sense and Season,” by Tovah Martin

Veronica Szczygiel

English Teacher

Marymount School of New York

One thought on “What the Diocese Is Reading This Summer

  1. Try THE CRUCIFIXION by Fleming Rutledge and CREATION AND THE CROSS by Elizabeth Johnson! (Good together)
    Just for fun, enjoy THE BUCOLIC Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
    (Mel Sperti, transplanted to Diocese of Albany)