History
The first modern use of Gospel magic is in the ministry of the Italian Catholic priest Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco (Don Bosco, 1815–1888). His autobiography lists many dozens of magic tricks used for the purpose of offering religious instruction to children and youth.
Don Bosco has been seen as the Patron Saint of Catholic Magicians and, specifically, Catholic Gospel Magicians.[4]
In 1910, Rev. C. H. (Clarence Herbert) Woolston (1856-1927) published Seeing Truth: Object Lessons with Magical and Mechanical Effects which aimed to help adults working with children in church.[5] Woolston was an Baptist minister who was instructed in magic by famed magician Howard Thurston (1869-1936).[6] Woolston also wrote three other books on the subject: Penny Object Lessons (1916), The Curiosity Book (1922), and The Bible Object Book (1926). Other texts were soon written that incorporated Gospel messages with magic.
In 1953, the International Fellowship of Christian Magicians began in the US. This rapidly spread the use of the creative arts to teach the Gospel. An international magazine, The Voice of the FCM, is published every two months. Annual conventions are held in US, UK and Germany.[7]
