Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
Journalist, author, and professor Rachel L. Swarns discusses her new book “The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church.” Swarns exposes the Catholic Church's reliance on slave labor and sales, as she follows the Mahoney family's two-century journey of indentured servitude and enslavement, revealing the harrowing origin story of the Church in America.
Journalist, author, and professor Rachel L. Swarns discusses her new book “The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church.” Swarns exposes the Catholic Church's reliance on slave labor and sales, as she follows the Mahoney family's two-century journey of indentured servitude and enslavement, revealing the harrowing origin story of the Church in America.
