Denver Catholic

5 DENVER CATHOLIC | MARCH 7-13, 2015 Cover Story 2.49% APR * Limited Time Offer for DC Readers Call: 303.424.5037 Click: www.nufcu.com or Come by one of our convenient locations today! Bringing Catholic Values to Financial Services *APR = Annual Percentage Rate. See website for details. Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency NCUA Simplify the car buying process with our Automotive Partners. Visit www.nufcu.com for more info. Pre-Approved Auto Loan Rates as low as Stimpson, co-author of "The American Catholic Almanac: A Daily Reader of Patriots, Saints, Rogues, and Ordinary People Who Changed the United States," told the¯ Denver Catholic. "He had so much love for people, and so much enthusiasm, and he was so loyal. Wherever he went, wherever he got sent, he would embrace it wholeheartedly (saying) 'Alright, these are my people, I'm loving them. Now these are my people.'" Father Machebeuf, originally from the mountains of France, was transferred to Colorado in 1860. He spent most of the next 29 years traveling through Colora- do's mountains in a specially outfi tted wagon. Named bishop in 1887, he bought property, built parishes, hospitals and schools; and recruited religious orders. "He had such a wonderful view of what his job was," Stimpson said. "People always asked him why he didn't build a cathedral like most bishops. He would reply that his job was the care of souls, and the souls in his area were so lost, and the needs of his fl ock many." Bishop Machebeuf is just one of the Catholics who helped shape the country highlighted in "The American Catholic Almanac." The book, released last Sep- tember, was co-authored by Stimpson and Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote.org, a nonprofi t political advocacy group based in Chicago. The page-a-day history shares 365 inspiring stories that celebrate historic contributions of "saints and sinners" including clergy, religious, patriots, pol- iticians, artists, athletes and ordinary people. About two-thirds of the stories highlight individuals including Buf- falo Bill, Vince Lombardi, Dorothy Day, Fulton Sheen and Andy Warhol—and the other third share pivotal events and places, including the building of the Cathedral of the Plains on the Kansas prairie by Volga Germans, the birth of the new evangelization following World Youth Day in Denver in 1993, and the role of Catholics in the struggle for civil rights. Credit for the idea to write it goes to Burch and CatholicVote.org, Stimpson explained. "In the thick of HHS (Health and Human Services) controversy, (CatholicVote.org) was looking at how many people just didn't seem to bat an eye at the fact that our reli- gious liberties were being infringed," she said. "People don't seem to understand what we have, because some people don't understand how others worked to get that freedom for us." While the stories draw on American history, they also provide a guide for today's new evangelization. "Catholics fi nd themselves at a loss about how best to lead others to Christ. But the men and women in this book can show us the way," the co-authors wrote in the preface. "What we see are men and women who thought little about their own comfort and much about Christ ... They prayed. They loved. They served." That humility, service and sacrifi ce built the Church in America from the ground up, and brought people to the faith as "it changed minds, and it trans- formed hearts." "People are still people, and what worked to convince people of the truth and beauty and power of the faith 100, or 200, or 500 years ago will still work today," Stimpson said. « 1 | Cover Story ONLINE "The American Catholic Almanac: A Daily Reader of Patriots, Saints, Rogues, and Ordinary People Who Changed the United States" Visit www.catholicvote.org/american- catholic-almanac closer to from

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