Designed as a primer for Catholic children, this booklet became an historic fixture in American Catholic literature. Dividing the Bible into episodes easily understood by children, the author, Bishop Gilmour, explained in easy language, the Roman Catholic understanding of these stories. This book became a classic on the forefront of Catholic education in the days when frontier religion was largely dominated by the Protestant movement. Wonderfully illustrated with classic woodcuts, this beguiling book also undertook to introduce the general overlay of church history to young readers. Offered by Gorgias Press as a period piece in the Gorgias Theological Library, this brief study had tremendous influence on generations of readers, having been reprinted several times over the years.

Richard Gilmour (1824-1891), was a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. Famous for having promoted the cause of Catholic education and the building of several schools, he served as professor of the seminary of Mount St. Mary’s of the West in Ohio. He was the second bishop of Cleveland and was award the degree D.D.