Priest on Horseback-Father Farmer: 1720-1786

In pre-Revolutionary America, Catholic families in New England had not seen a priest in years. Their faith was isolated, their sacraments denied, their very existence precarious in a Protestant-dominated world that still legally restricted Catholic worship. Into this dangerous landscape rode Father Farmer, a priest of uncommon courage and learning, carrying the Mass across hundreds of miles of wilderness. This historical novel follows Father Farmer through several months of his circuit riding, when he traveled from town to town bringing the sacraments to hidden Catholic communities. He faced river crossings in flood, wilderness dangers, and the ever-present risk of discovery in colonies where Catholics were still barred from full participation in civic life. Yet his mission was not merely spiritual. Farmer was also a philosopher and astronomer, a man of science who read the stars as fluently as he read Scripture, and he would become one of the first trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the American Philosophical Society. A story of quiet heroism and steadfast faith, this book reveals the extraordinary perseverance of early Catholic communities and the remarkable man who sustained them against formidable odds.