Journey to Priesthood
[Plymouth, Indiana]: n.p., [1951]. First edition. Octavo (8 1/2 inches tall), original stiff textured illustrated wrappers. Early owner signature (dated April 1952), A nearly-fine copy. Item #1279
"THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER"
First edition of this privately printed guide to the steps to Priestly Ordination--—complete with an evocative illustration to the front wrapper.
The author of For High School Boys Only and Between Catholics, William Sheridan was devoted to his alma mater Nashotah House Seminary. He served on the board of trustees and assisted in raising funds for a refectory and an addition to the library. Sheridan was conferred the degree of Doctor of Canon Law by the seminary. With the author's dual Dedication (dated, "St. Thomas's Rectory / Plymouth, Indiana / St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1951") to the Rev. Dr. W. Freeman Whitmen and the Rt. Rev. Reginald Mallett. His study of the Sacrament of Holy Orders consists of seven sections: I. What is Priesthood? II. "Between Sundays," III. Sorrows and Temptations, IV. A Disciplined Life! V. Joys of Priesthood, VI. Do I Have a Vocation? VII. How to Begin the Journey. The text is preceded by a brief Foreword by the Right Reverend Wallace E. Conkling, declaring "the Vocation to Priesthood is of God. The call is either for us or it is not." In 1972, at the invitation of Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, William Sheridan was consecrated as bishop in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Bishop Sheridan was the first non-Roman Catholic to be so honored and the consecration service was broadcast by WNDU Television, South Bend, Indiana. With a superb illustration (initialed "J.B. / O.S.B.") of a priest kneeling before the altar.
Price: $50.00