About the Author

Andrew “Jack” Fitzpatrick is a lifelong Catholic, a former United States Marine, and a homeschooling father of eight children. He grew up in the late 1960s and ‘70s, a time of great turmoil for the Church in the United States as the Second Vatican Council was implemented.

After having been raised in the Church and almost exclusively attending Catholic schools, Fitzpatrick left the Church for more than five years. He began the quest for understanding which would come to encompass every aspect of his life. The author’s quest led him back to understand the Catholic faith of his youth and how it applies to every moment of the lives we lead. His return to Holy Mother Church and the Sacraments was completed at the Easter Vigil in 1991. However, his quest was far from over.

With a natural love of history and an inquiring mind, Fitzpatrick has continued his quest for knowledge and understanding, guided by faith, in hope and with prayer, that it might lead to wisdom. He refers to the era he was raised in as “the catechetical abyss” and believes that the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" is a true gift to the world. He has handed on his love for the Church and history to his children by the way he teaches. It is these children who have been the primary drivers of this book as well as the catechetical program, "The Catholic Church in a Pagan World: History Repeats Itself."