Frank McCourt’s childhood is written in the novel Angela’s Ashes. McCourt’s childhood is based on poverty, such that he and his family need to move back to Ireland from New York, where McCourt is originally from. McCourt’s family is catholic and follows the church principles. The Catholic Church influences his poverty and hopes. The Catholic Church plays a major role in Frank McCourt’s life. McCourt quotes “the rain drove us into the church-our refuge, our strength, our only dry place” (12). In limerick it is constantly raining, so the rain is personified driving McCourt and his family to church, which is a refuge where they find spiritual strength. The Catholic Church is also involved in McCourt’s health. McCourt has the typhoid fever and meanwhile he is in the hospital he hears the “swish of habit and click of beads and then Sister Rita’s voice” (194). Sister Rita is a nun who prays for McCourt’s well being, the click of beads symbolize Sister Rita praying the rosary for McCourt’s health. The Catholic Church also helps McCourt material wise. McCourt is celebrating Christmas thanks to “food voucher Mam got from the St. Vincent de Paul Society” (270). McCourt is really poor so it is rare when he eats; therefore the food voucher is symbolizing a holiday, in this case Christmas. The Priest helps McCourt to be happy spiritually. McCourt quotes “he blesses me again asks me to pray for him, and I’m happy” (343). The priest’s bless is symbolizing McCourt’s happiness and the peace of his conscious. The Catholic Church helps the poor by sheltering, curing, and feeding them also spiritually wise. Despite the fact that the Catholic Church helps McCourt it also hurts him. At the beginning of the novel McCourt mentions how miserable his Irish Catholic childhood, due to the “poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priest” (11). The pompous priest symbolize the miserable Catholic childhood McCourt is living. Catholics are really hard and strict on themselves. Catholics believe that “all bastards are doomed they are