A Catholic Childhood
Memories of a Disappearing World
When Anton A. Bucher tells his children and grandchildren about how he celebrated Easter when he was a child, they can hardly believe it: The entire family would kneel in front of the television and cross themselves when the pope gave his Urbi et orbi blessing. Hundreds sang “Mary, spread out yourcloak, make it our protection and shield” at the May devotions and everyone felt safe and secure. At the same time, it was an era in which rigid sexual morality ruled the bedroom and constantly fuelled the fear that people could easily lose their eternal bliss. Such childhoods now seem like something from another world, but millions of men and women personally experienced them.The fact that things are different today is both a liberation and a loss.
Anton A. Bucher tells the story of his Catholic childhood in an exemplary manner that will evoke vivid images for many people because they experienced the same thing to some degree. By interweaving this narrative with contemporary historical contexts, it becomes a piece of church and mental history from the 1950s to the 1980s – with insights up into the present day.
- Church development in two generations
- Exemplary autobiographical storytelling
- Awareness of experienced history
