Winds of Change: The Roman Catholic Church and Society in Wales 1916-1962

In this fascinating study Trystan Owain Hughes examines the position of the Roman Catholic Church in Wales in the period between the formation of the Province of Wales in 1916 and the commencement of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. These were years in which the Roman Catholic Church in Wales experienced a remarkable growth, and the increase in its numbers threw into sharp relief the spectacular decline of Nonconformity. Catholic expansion, and the triumphalism which resulted from it, provoked virulent hostility and prejudice from non-Catholics. The story of enmity and opposition, told by the author with a wealth of detail and with admirable objectivity, covers a wide range of political, cultural, educational and doctrinal issues. A more ecumenical atmosphere characterized the close of the period and Catholicism came gradually to be accepted as one of the major denominations of Wales.