James Hitchcock, Catholic historian and commentator, dead at 87
July 18, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: James Hitchcock, a noted historian and leading figure in an American Catholic intellectual revival of the late 20th century, died on July 14 at the age of 87, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Raised in St. Louis, Hitchcock earned his undergraduate degree from St. Louis University and a doctorate from Princeton. He returned to St. Louis University to join the history department, teaching there for decades before his retirement in 2013.
With his books—including Recovery of the Sacred, Catholicism and Modernity, and The Decline and Fall of Radical Catholicism, Hitchcock earned wide following among American Catholics searching for stability during tumultuous years following Vatican II. He was a key figure in the growth of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, and a regular contributor to orthodox Catholic journals.
James and his wife Helen Hitchcock—herself a key figure in American Catholic history, as the founder of Women for Faith and Family—had four daughters. Helen Hitchcock died in 2014.
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