Ida Friederike Görres was one of the brightest, most penetrating Catholic writers in twentieth-century Europe. Bishop Erik Varden has called her “a treasure we should again make our own”, while Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), at her funeral, labeled her a “brave and faithful woman”, with “an insightful certainty . . . about the pressing questions and tasks of the Church today”. Yet her work is almost entirely unknown in the English-speaking world today.

The time has come to discover Ida Görres. This collection of vibrant, piercing, often hilarious essays were written in the tumultuous years surrounding Vatican II, when “demolition troops” bent on destruction mingled with saints like Karol Wojtyła. Rising out of this confusion, Görres, with her colorful style, reveals the raw, majestic splendor of the Catholic Church, which is more craggy, complex, and solid than any Alpine mountain.

If you think you have fallen out of love with Catholicism, read Bread Grows in Winter: a brutally honest yet poetically inspired meditation on the heart of the faith. Originally published in 1970, it is perhaps more important today than ever. Can we still trust the “leaky ship” of the Church? Yes, we can, and yes, we must.

“This book, first published in 1970, has been a source of inspiration to me. During my first few years of episcopacy I often took it with me on journeys, as a travel companion. . . . Trying to work out how to exercise the ministry, I found in Görres a sure guide unfailingly summoning me to focus on essentials. . . . The publication of Görres’ work in English is a major event full of promise for the Church’s mission, at once ancient and ever new, ‘to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the befriending Spirit’.”
—Bishop Erik Varden, from the foreword 

“Timely prophetic insightfulness for the present day. Ida Görres combines a wonderful style of writing, a piercing lucidity in her religious sense, and a unique capacity to diagnose aberrant trends in the Church and propose spiritual solutions. This book is highly recommended to all who seek clarity in their Catholic commitment in a time of confusion and ambiguity, and who would like a great read as well.”
—Fr. Donald Haggerty, Author, The Hour of Testing: Spiritual Depth and Insight in a Time of Ecclesial Uncertainty

“Because of her courage, her clear-sightedness, and her evident devotion to Christ and the Church, Ida Friederika Görres served as an excellent guide for Catholics in German-speaking lands during the tumultuous times surrounding Vatican II. We have Jennifer S. Bryson to thank for recalling Görres’ voice for us in the similarly confusing times that face us today. Bread Grows in Winter shows us how to be fully cognizant of the problems that beset the Church while not only holding fast to, but also deepening, our joyful hope.”
—D. C. Schindler, Professor of Metaphysics and Anthropology, John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C.

“Ida Görres . . . spoke with an insightful certainty and a fearlessness about the pressing questions and tasks of the Church today. . . . We thank God that this insightful, brave, and faithful woman was given to the Church in this century. We give thanks for her writing, for the way she was and will continue to be present to many people through her writing.”
—Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, from his 1971 eulogy for Görres