Press Release, November 24, 2025, Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC)
Dr. Jennifer Bryson, a scholar in the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s (EPPC) Catholic Studies program, has released the first English translation of Ida Friederike Görres’s “Bread Grows in Winter” (250 pp. Ignatius Press ISBN-10 9781621647386) a powerful collection of Catholic essays and lectures from 1967 to 1970.
During her lifetime, Ida Friederike Görres was a prominent Catholic thinker and writer. Recently, Görres has received renewed interest in English, in large part due to the translation efforts of Bryson. This book offers thoughtful reflection and insight on the state of the Catholic Church and also includes the eulogy Fr. Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) delivered for Görres in 1971 and a foreword by Bishop Erik Varden.
In Bread Grows in Winter, Görres offers a sharply realistic account of the upheaval in the Church following the Second Vatican Council. At the same time, Görres, a deeply faithful Catholic, offers readers a deep well of hope. Today, Bread Grows in Winter speaks directly to the hearts of believers amid the challenges many continue to experience.
“I translated Bread Grows in Winter into English because of the valuable fortification of faith Görres provides in this book. Ida Görres acknowledges frankly what was happening in the Church in Germany after the Second Vatican Council. Some passages are harrowing. She addresses readers who question whether they can trust the Church any longer. With passion and insight, Görres explains why she herself trusts the Church, through thick and thin, and she invites readers to join her in this.” – Dr. Jennifer Bryson
In his 1971 eulogy for Görres, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger stated, “we thank God that this insightful, brave, and faithful woman was given to the Church in this century. We give thanks for her writing, for the way she was and will continue to be present to many people through her writing.”
Read more and purchase the book here.
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