Catholic Ladders: Teaching the Faith with Images

SSA005: Catholic ladders were visual representations of the faith used for teaching the catechism. Alix Murray and Kathryn Laffrey discuss their use in the Pacific Northwest missions in the 19th century and the power of visual imagery and symbolism to convey religious truth to varied audiences.

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Links for this episode:



* Tableau-catéchisme [Pictorial Catechism], 1896 – OHS Digital Collections

* Catholic Ladder – Oregon History Project

* The key to the Catholic ladder : containing a sketch of the Christian religion and universal history, useful to all : with the authorization of the Archbishop of Oregon City, 1859 – OHS Digital Collections

* Black Elk teaching Broken Nose’s children with Lacombe’s ladder, 1927 or 1928

Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries.



* Black Elk (Lakota/Sioux Medicine Man)

* Nicholas Black Elk (Lakota Medicine Man, Catholic Saint?)





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