The Baltimore Catechism was indirectly a product of the Council of Trent, the 16th-century version of Vatican II. To counter the Protestant Reformation, Trent published a manual of Catholic teaching called the Roman Catechism. Written in Latin (the word catechismus meant “oral teaching”) it was used by clergy to instruct the faithful.
In 1884 the bishops of the United States, gathered in Baltimore, decided to publish an English version for use by American schoolchildren.
truecatholic.org/baltcont.htm
The first Baltimore Catechism, published in 1891, contained 100 questions. A larger edition, No. 2, held 421 questions, and a still larger version, No. 3, had 1,274 questions plus prayers. No. 4, the whopper, included lengthy “explanations” for teachers.
After Vatican II the old catechism fell out of favor. Then a gathering of bishops in Rome proposed a new catechism. That became a reality in 1994, when Pope John Paul II introduced the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Like the catechism of Trent, it was designed as a reference book to be used when preparing teaching texts for adults and children. But it doesn’t fit in your pocket like the Baltimore Catechism.
The Baltimore Catechism has seen something of a resurgence among young homeschoolers and people underwhelmed by their parish’s CCD program. We have been using it for our children for the last few years and as a result, they’re knowledge of the basics of the faith is head and shoulders over their peers–and above many adult Catholics, for that matter.
We use the St. Joseph Edition which came out in 1962.
aquinasandmore.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/store.ItemDetails/SKU/253/Category/0/
While some adults may sniff at the somewhat dated photos, my kids have never complained. The information is solid and timeless and if you teach them while they’re young, they’ll never forget it. I’ve had elderly ladies in Bible studies I’ve led, remember word for word what they learned as girls 50 years ago.
