Albert H. Dolan

Albert H. Dolan, born Albert Harold Dolan (July 1, 1892– January 22, 1951) was an American Catholic priest of the Carmelites, the author of many popular books, and a prominent as well as early promoter of devotion to Thérèse of Lisieux, especially in the United States and Canada
== Life ==
Dolan was born in July 1, 1892 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He attended grammar and high school in Syracuse, New York, after which he attended Niagara University. In 1918, he entered the Carmelite order. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1919. He studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome and at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto. He died in White Plains, New York and is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Tenafly, New Jersey.
== His Ministry ==
A significant part of Rev. Dolan's life after he entered the Carmelite order focused on fostering devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as "The Little Flower." In an autobiographical essay, Dolan wrote, "Even before ordination I owed much to the intercession of St. Therese. Consequently I undertook to propagate devotion to her in America first through the spoken and later through the written word."
Dolan has been described as "Perhaps the greatest apostle of St. Therese in the new world." In 1923, Rev. Dolan he founded the Society of the Little Flower. Over many years, he established shrines to St. Thérèse of Lisieux in the United States, Canada, and France. For his research about St. Thérèse, Rev. Dolan traveled to France and interviewed four sisters of the saint; he wrote about these interviews in his book The Intimate Life of Saint Thérèse Portrayed by Those Who Knew Her (1944) . Dolan "devoted his priesthood to promoting devotion to St. Therese," wrote one obituary.
Dolan also founded the Matt Talbot Legion, "formed," as one of his obituaries explained, "to aid alcoholics through prayer and the inspiration of Matt Talbott's example." Dolan wrote two books about Matt Talbot: Matt Talbot, Alcoholic: The Story of a Slave to Alcohol who Became a Comrade of Christ (1947) and We Knew Matt Talbot: Visits with His Relatives and Friends (1948).
== Victim of Imposter Scam ==
In 1929, there were several incidents of a man posing at a priest who claimed to be Rev. Albert H. Dolan and who visited several convents. The man appeared to be trying to collect money supposedly for Mass intentions and he would sometimes bring copies of Dolan's books with him which he would autograph for the nuns.
== Books, partial list ==
Dolan considered Roses Fall Where Rivers Meet (1937) his best work.Roming, Walter, ed. (1945). "Reverend Albert H. Dolan, O.Carm.". The Book of Catholic Authors, Third Series. Detroit, MI: Walter Roming & Co. p. 101. He said that his book Dare to Live! Is Our Religion a Burden or a Boon? (1941) was "suggested and inspired" by two books by Ida Friederike Görres, namely The Nature of Sanctity and The Burden of Belief.The Catholic Library World Vol 13 Iss 2 (November 1941), p. 62.
He wrote 53 books. Most, if not all, of Dolan's books were published by Carmelite Press, based in Chicago and Englewood, NJ.
* The Living Sisters of the Little Flower (1926)
* An hour with the Little Flower : the Little Flower, a seraph of love (1926)
* Our Sister Is in Heaven!: sequel to "the living sisters of the little flower" (1928)
* Scapular Facts (1929)
* Mobilize for Christ!: Communism and the Theresian Spirit (1936)
* Roses Fall Where Rivers Meet: a description and explanation of the shower of roses of the Little Flower (1937)
* All the Answers: about marriage and birth control (1937)
* Mother, I Belong to Thee : meditation on Mary at her home in Nazareth (1937)
* Enjoy the Mass (1937)
* Dare to Live! Is Our Religion a Burden or a Boon? (1941)
* Friends and Enemies of Happiness (1943)
* The Intimate Life of Saint Thérèse Portrayed by Those Who Knew Her (1944)
* A Modern Messenger of Purity: talks to the laity concerning the sixth commandment (1945)
* Matt Talbot, Alcoholic: The Story of a Slave to Alcohol who Became a Comrade of Christ (1947)This book was republished in 1961 as The Life of Matt Talbot: The Story of a Slave to Alcohol who Became a Comrade of Christ. Chicago: Carmelite Press, 1961.
* God Made the Violet Too: Life of Leonie, Sister of St. Therese (1948)
* We Knew Matt Talbot: visits with his relatives and friends (1948)
Category:Catholic priests
Category:Writers*