Dale Ahlquist is the president of the American Chesterton Society. It is organization that seeks to promote the writings and thoughts of the English Catholic writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton.
He has come to Rome to speak to the Vatican about Chesterton's potential cause for canonization. Along with him, he has brought these two books: “Knight of the Holy Ghost” and “My Name is Lazarus.”
According to Dale Ahlquist, the author of “Knight of the Holy Ghost,” unlike many other books on Chesterton this one attempts to propose the writer's cause for sainthood.
DALE AHLQUIST
President, Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
“He saw the lack of faith coming, the crisis in families falling apart and an attack on morality. However, he also showed us solutions. He showed us how to get back on the right track.”
One reason he wanted to call the book “Knight of the Holy Ghost” was despite being a literary giant and his peers receiving knighthood, Chesterton never was awarded such honors. This is because he was Catholic; and wrote about subjects that were at the time considered politically incorrect.
In Dale Ahlquist's second book “My Name is Lazarus” he gathers the accounts of various people who claim Chesterton's writings helped them in their conversion to Catholicism.
DALE AHLQUIST
President, Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
“These men and women all became Catholic in part because they had an encounter with Chesterton's writings. They are former Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics and protestants of all different stripes.”
One example from the book is professional magician Brent Forrest. He had tried all different types of religions ranging from Protestantism to Eastern religions to even becoming an atheist.
DALE AHLQUIST
President, Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
“It was the most circuitous route until he found G.K. Chesterton and his immediate thought was here is someone who has put it all together. Who really has the answers to all the questions that I have been asking.”
He hopes the book will help people who are in the process of conversion and also for Catholics to see how it is for a person converting to Catholicism.
