1897-1980
Christian Magazine Publisher and Social Worker

Conversion.

After spending her young adulthood in nonreligious, left-wing circles in New York City, Dorothy Day was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1927, shortly after the baptism of her illegitimate daughter. Although the American Catholic Church tended to adopt conservative political and religious views in the first half of the twentieth century, Day continued her work for peace and religious meaning while criticizing capitalism. In 1932 she met Peter Maurin, a French immigrant, who introduced her to his ideas about Christians taking personal responsibility for living a Christian life and thus creating a Christian world.

Catholic Worker.

After being persuaded by Maurin's ideas, Day took responsibility for publicizing them and putting them into action. In 1933 she began publishing the Catholic Worker, a name that became associated with the movement she and Maurin started. He presented his thoughts in the...