Traditions made new again
St. Joseph's Press is a family printing company dedicated to spreading the JOY of Catholicism in America by providing quality religious print goods. We are truly a family business. There are just the three of us: Mom and the two of us children who live nearby. Everything we make, we make right here in our office in Belton, Missouri. Our patrons are St. Patrick and, of course, St. Joseph; we begin every workday either with St. Patrick's Breastplate or the Ancient Prayer to St. Joseph in their honour.
The three of us give our unique talents to the Press. Mom is advertising and inspiration, knowledge base, designer, tireless reader and researcher....really, the heart and soul of the whole business. She loves old Catholic customs and she loves reading Church history and the lives of the saints. Whatever she learns she turns around into our many unique and informative products. Dominique, a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, is the art department, editor, and the person who cuts out the holy cards so that Mom can do other things. She gives input about colour and look, provides original artwork, and (hopefully) catches all the millions of typos which seem to crop up in a printing business. Joseph, also a Thomas Aquinas College alumnus, is on more of a consulting basis. He gets called in when the computers are acting up or the printers won't print. He is also the new shiny website maintenance guy.
The idea for St. Joseph's Press was born at the 1997 National Marian Congress where we heard an address by the late Fr. John Hardon, S.J. in which he begged for more Catholic printers and publishers to come forward to help keep the presence of Christ alive in American culture. Three years later, after a novena to St. Joseph, the Press was established on March 17th, 2000 (hence St. Patrick as our co-patron). Up till now our focus has primarily been local with some mail order outreach. However, whenever we showed our wares at various local parishes we were always greeted with such enthusiasm that in 2015 we decided to go on the web so we could reach more customers and share the JOY of the Faith with Catholics across the country.
We think you will find our items unique and refreshing. Much prayer and research goes into the making of each of them. All of them reflect the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Catholic Faith. We love to hunt for old images, customs, and inspiration from the saints which have been buried and forgotten, dust them off, and make them new again for a new generation. There are so many timeless treasures in the Church's long rich tradition which it would be a shame to lose. We are pleased to give them a home and even more pleased to share them with you. Please enjoy looking at all of our wonderful offerings and let us know what we can do for you.
We would like to leave you with a little snippet from the Carmelite devotion to the Infant of Prague. We like it because of its emphasis on hope. Jesus, unto Thee I flee, through Thy Mother praying Thee, in my need to succour me. Truly I believe of Thee, God, Thou art, with strength to shield me; Full of trust, I hope of Thee, Thou, Thy grace wilt give to me, all my heart I give to Thee... This is the prayer that kept St. Joseph's Press afloat during its very humble beginnings. Now we close our workday by reciting it and the statue of the Divine Infant has a place of honour in our office.
May God bless you and may you always have a very great JOY of your Catholic Faith!