Ashes to Incense: Emancipation from Jim Crow

About the Book

North against South, a civil war, prejudice, a Protestant South . . . Could Catholicism survive in this hostile environment? When Fr. Paul Hatch led a dozen young men to Rock Hill, South Carolina, he promised them nothing. He told them more Catholics existed in China than in South Carolina. Little did they know the obstacles they would face as Catholic Oratorians in this small Southern community. Jim Crow thrived, and some locals believed Catholics had tails. Faced with their own “Pearl Harbor,” the men must decide whether to continue their mission and tenets of St. Philip Neri or leave.

About the Author

Sandi Ludwa, born in the Midwest and residing in Buffalo, New York for much of her life, considers herself a Yankee who embraces the South. She earned her B.S. Business Administration, from the State University of New York and has enjoyed many careers. Sandi has traveled throughout the world and retained a life-long interest in history. After relocating to the South, she earned a M.A. (history) from Winthrop University and likes to think of this stage of her life as finding herself and starting a new exciting career in historical research, writing, and perhaps teaching. She is an avid long distance runner and sports enthusiast. Sandi is a mother of two and grandmother of four and resides in Rock Hill, South Carolina with her husband Michael and two cats.