The unexpected papacy of Jorge Bergoglio has reinvigorated the Catholic Church. The past five years have seen the pope grace the pages of major newspapers and magazines (including People!), deliver a TED Talk and generally become a media sensation not seen since the early years of the pontificate of John Paul II.

“Civil war.” Ross Douthat first uses the term nine lines in to his new book, “To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism.” But readers might be surprised by the identity of the primary driver of the strife that could lead to schism. His subject is Pope Francis.

When teaching U.S. history at the University of Notre Dame, historian Jay Dolan used to ask his students to identify the significance of three dates: 1607, 1608 and 1610.

In “History and Presence,” religion scholar Robert Orsi tells the history of “real presence” — a claim with doctrinally significant meanings for both Catholics and Protestants — by examining stories of “abundant presence” in the lives of ordinary people.

The secular world clings to the idea that the Catholic Church is unchanging. Catholics know better. Pressed to say how, we turn to describing our parish. Perhaps seeing the church in one parish is like seeing the world in a grain of sand. But “Catholic Parishes of the 21st Century,” looks at the big picture, reporting important data and details about parishes, parishioners and parish staffs.

Eileen Markey has written a remarkable book about Sister Maura Clarke, one of the four American churchwomen assassinated in El Salvador in 1980.

Earlier this year, someone recommended an enewsletter with the obscure title “Municipal Archive.” The newsletter itself did not disappoint: brief narrations of author Kio Stark’s interactions with strangers. Sometimes they offered profound moments of connection, other times just funny little anecdotes. But always they were compelling.

Twenty years ago, historian Timothy Walch predicted that Catholic schools would survive into the 21st century and “continue to influence the contours of public education as well as prepare young Catholics for future leadership roles in the Church and in American society.”

Flannery O’Connor is considered one of America’s great writers. While many may be familiar with her short stories such as “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and her novels such as “Wise Blood,” the...

Kenneth Woodward's new memoir, 'Getting Religion,' marches entertainingly through his nearly 40 years as Newsweek's...