United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

4 BRING ABOUT THE

OBEDIENCE OF FAITH

FAITH AS THE HUMAN RESPONSE TO GOD’S REVELATION —CCC, NOS. 142-197

MISSIONARY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE Isaac Thomas Hecker was born in New York City in 1819 to John and Caroline Freund Hecker, who were both immigrants from areas in present-day Germany. Isaac was one of three sons born into the family. Though his mother was known to have had ties to the Methodist Church, none of the boys seem to have been given any religious instruction. Nor did Isaac receive a formal education. Instead, he educated himself.This thirst for knowledge began his journey of faith. As a young adult, Isaac found himself drawn to the plight of the work ing class. At first, he tried his hand at politics, but was soon disheartened with the political climate of his age, which was largely driven by a thirst for power rather than a concern for one’s fellow man. Eventually, at the inspiration of his friend Orestes Brownson, Isaac was baptized by Bishop John McCloskey in New York in January of 1844. Isaac’s zeal for the faith grew. Only a year after his Baptism, he joined the Redemptorists in Belgium and was ordained a priest in 1849. Returning to the United States in 1851, Isaac was determined to bring the Catholic faith to others. He became one of the foremost lecturers in the United States on the Catholic faith, filling auditoriums beyond capacity in New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and other cities. He saw his mis sion as evangelical: to bring the fullness of faith to the non-Catholic—and many times, hostile anti-Catholic—population of America. In 1857, Isaac Hecker made a trip to Rome in order to seek a resolu tion to a difficulty that had arisen between the American Redemptorists