Catholic Church Through The Ages by Vidmar JohnThe Catholic Church through the Ages, now in its second edition, is a one volume survey of the history of the Catholic Church from its beginning until (and including) the pontificate of Pope Francis. The book explains the Church's progress by using Christopher Dawson's division of the Church's history into six distinct "ages," or 350 400 year periods of time, each cycle beginning with great enthusiasm and advancement and ending in decline and loss.