“The aim of the Catholic Worker movement is to live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ. . . . This aim requires us to begin living in a different way. We recall the words of our founders, Dorothy Day who said, ‘God meant things to be much easier than we have made them,’ and Peter Maurin who wanted to build a society ‘where it is easier for people to be good.’”
—the aims and means of the catholic worker
The Movement
An overview of the Catholic Worker: aims and means, history, books, bibliography, and more.
Dorothy Day
Biographies, writings, canonization, and more about the co-founder of the Catholic Worker.
LATEST CATHOLIC WORKER NEWS
The Sower (Fall-Winter 2025)
Here’s the Fall 2025 issue of THE SOWER, the newsletter of Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Farm. Inside: Betsy’s fall garden report; Dottie Fromal on praying with the Catholic Worker;…
In Memoriam: Patrick Jordan (1944-2025)
Patrick Jordan, former editor of The Catholic Worker and a close friend of Dorothy Day died on Thursday, October 2.
Remembering Vincent Scotti Eirine
Vincent Scotti Eirene, a longtime Catholic Worker and well-known Pittsburgh peace activist, died Sept. 11, 2025, at the age of 73. Eirene, who adopted his surname from the Greek goddess…
At Sugar Creek 2025, Good Conversations and Plenty of Fun Refresh Catholic Workers
About 75 people attended the 2025 gathering this past weekend; Jerry Windley-Daoust shares the highlights.
New Mural in NYC’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral Features Dorothy Day and the Stories of Immigrants
On Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace, a new mural was blessed in the cathedral’s narthex, linking the struggles of Irish immigrants of the past with today’s migrants and…
Sugar Creek Gathering 2025 in Video
Photographer Mauro Heck shares some of the videos he took at the Midwest Catholic Worker Gathering at the Sugar Creek Retreat Center in Iowa (Sept. 12 – 14, 2025).
Sugar Creek Gathering 2025 in Photos
Mauro Heck and Mary Farrell share their best photos from the Midwest Catholic Worker Gathering, September 12 – 14, 2025.
Peter Maurin – Systematic Agitator
Lincoln Rice’s keynote address on the systematic “magna carta” of Peter Maurin’s Easy Essays in the first issues of The Catholic Worker, presented at the Peter Maurin Conference in Chicago,…
In Memoriam: Monica Ribar Cornell
Casey Mullaney writes in memory of Monica Ribar Cornell, a life-long Catholic Worker, mother, farmer, and friend, who died August 8, 2025
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Roundtable brings you news of the Catholic Worker Movement every Friday.
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THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT
A Brief Introduction to the Catholic Worker Movement
Tom Cornell, associate editor of The Catholic Worker and a leader in Catholic peace and justice movements, offers a brief overview of the Catholic Worker Movement.
The Evolution of the ‘Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker’
The Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker movement describe its goals and the means by which the movement hopes to achieve those goals. The Aims and Means have taken…
What is the Catholic Worker?
This essay was written by Jim Forest on the Catholic Worker Movement for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History to be published by the Liturgical Press. Jim Forest, once a…
Biography of Peter Maurin
This essay by Jim Forest on Peter Maurin was written for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History published by the Liturgical Press.
The Life and Spirituality of Dorothy Day
This article is from the introduction to the book Praying with Dorothy Day by James Allaire and Rosemary Broughton.
May Day, 1933
An account of the birth of the Catholic Worker Movement on May 1, 1933, in New York City’s Union Square, from the opening paragraphs of “All Is Grace: a Biography…