Liguori Publications Mourns the Loss of Two Popular Authors

Fr. Ritter passed away in Bellevue, Washington July 26, 2020. He served in many parishes in the Seattle Archdiocese, and also served on various boards and committees. Very much respected by his peers and those he served, Fr. Ritter was tireless in reaching out to people of the community. Even after his retirement in 2012, he continued to live in Bellevue where he helped at St. Louise parish and St. Monica parish in Mercer Island. Fr. Ritter also helped provide burial services for people in the community, working with local funeral homes. When faced with severe hip surgeries and a life-threatening infection, Fr. Ritter found his deep faith to be a great source of comfort. In his book Profound Peace, he tells of his own inspiring story of recovery along with prayers and reflections for people facing their own journeys through illness.

Joseph Martos died March 24, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. Martos was a retired professor of philosophy and theology who taught at many colleges and universities, including Briar Cliff, Xavier, DeSales, and Spalding where he served as the director of the Russell Institute of Religion and Ministry until the university discontinued all of its humanities programs in 2003. When asked to teach a course on the sacraments at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, he could not find a textbook to use, so he wrote Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. First published in 1981 and updated periodically, most recently in 2014, to take continuing developments into account, the book has been used in universities and seminaries for three decades.