Goffine's Devout Instructions on the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and Holydays

• Publisher: Benziger Brothers (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago) — officially designated "Printers to the Holy Apostolic See."

• Author: Father Leonard Goffiné (1648–1719), translated/updated for the American market.

• Copyright Date: April 29, 1896 (with a neat, handwritten family ownership inscription on the front flyleaf dated March 11th, 1902).

• Format: Thick, heavy octavo hardcover in deep brick-red cloth, heavily blind-stamped with black Victorian geometric borders and featuring bright gilt spine lettering.

About the Content & Authority

Originally written in German in the late 17th century, Father Goffiné’s Handpostille (Devout Instructions) was arguably the most popular home devotional in the Catholic world for over two centuries. It was designed as a "one-stop" resource for families to sanctify their homes, especially if they lived far from a parish church.

This specific 1896 edition by Benziger Brothers was a major, highly celebrated release for English-speaking Catholics in America. It includes:

• The Epistles and Gospels: Verse-by-verse, highly practical moral explanations for every Sunday and feast day of the liturgical calendar.

• Ecclesiastical Endorsements: The book is packed with official "Approbations" (formal statements of praise and recommendation) from the era's highest American and British Catholic authorities, led by James Cardinal Gibbons, the famous Archbishop of Baltimore, alongside the Archbishops of Cincinnati, New York, and New Orleans.

• The Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur: Signed by Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York, confirming the text contains zero doctrinal errors.