A colorful, 450-page book celebrating the 70-year history of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is being prepared for sale by a French company that specializes in commemorative editions for Catholic dioceses.

The book --- the latest in a formidable series of comprehensive historical works on the Catholic Church and California by Msgr. Francis Weber, archdiocesan archivist --- will be published later this year by Editions du Signe, which has published more than 50 diocesan histories in the U.S. and more worldwide.

Several years in the making, the book will include color photos and brief histories of each parish, elementary school and secondary school in the archdiocese, as well as features on such topics as ethnic composition and social justice ministry.

"The book itself is the most extensive, comprehensive and elegant of its kind yet published in our nation's annals," said Cardinal Roger Mahony.

At least 100,000 copies of the book will be printed, priced at $30 each plus $1.80 shipping and handling. Parishes will be notified in June regarding advance orders, with delivery expected before Christmas, according to Christian Riehl, president of Editions du Signe. The firm is a member of the Catholic Book Publishers Association, publishing in 70 languages, and its topics include Christian life and spirituality, church history, liturgy and worship, and prayer and Meditation.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles was created by Pope Pius XI in 1936, nearly 100 years after the establishment of the Diocese of Both Californias in 1840. The Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles was created in 1859 and the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego in 1922.

When the Los Angeles Archdiocese was created, it became the first state in the U.S. with two archdioceses (San Francisco being the other), and included the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Orange. The Orange Diocese was created in 1976; today the L.A. Archdiocese is the country's most populous, with between 4.5 million and 5 million Catholics.

---Mike Nelson