160 Years of Catholic Publishing: The Remarkable Story of Ave Maria Press and the Priest Who Built Notre Dame
What happens when a French priest in the Indiana wilderness starts a printing press to spread the faith—and that press is still publishing 160 years later?
Meet Ave Maria Press—one of the oldest Catholic publishers in the United States, founded in 1865 by Fr. Edward Sorin, CSC, the same Holy Cross priest who founded the University of Notre Dame. For over a century and a half, Ave Maria Press has been publishing books that nourish the spiritual lives of Catholics around the world—books on prayer, spirituality, theology, parish ministry, and Catholic living. From its home on the grounds of Notre Dame in Indiana, this publishing house carries forward a tradition that stretches back to the aftermath of the Civil War.
A Priest, a University, and a Printing Press
The story of Ave Maria Press cannot be separated from the story of Fr. Edward Sorin and the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Fr. Sorin was born in 1814 in Ahuillé, France. He joined the newly founded Congregation of Holy Cross and was ordained a priest in 1838. In 1842, at the age of 28, he arrived in the wilderness of northern Indiana with a small band of Holy Cross brothers. On a snowy November day, he stood beside a frozen lake and declared that this would be the site of a great university dedicated to Our Lady—Notre Dame du Lac, Our Lady of the Lake.
He was standing in the middle of nowhere. He had almost nothing. But Fr. Sorin was not a man who dealt in small ambitions.
Over the following decades, he built the University of Notre Dame from the ground up—literally. When the main building burned to the ground in 1879, the 65-year-old Sorin stood before the ashes and announced that they would rebuild, bigger and better. They did.
But Sorin understood that education alone was not enough. The faith needed to be spread through the written word as well. In 1865, he founded a publication called Ave Maria magazine—a weekly Catholic periodical that would eventually be distributed to Catholic homes across America. The printing operation that produced the magazine grew into what we now know as Ave Maria Press.
From Magazine to Publishing House
The Ave Maria magazine ran for over a century, bringing Catholic devotion, theology, and storytelling into American homes from the Gilded Age through the Space Age. Over time, the publishing operation expanded beyond the magazine to include books—and it was in book publishing that Ave Maria Press found its enduring identity.
Today, Ave Maria Press publishes across a wide range of categories, all rooted in the Catholic intellectual and spiritual tradition:
- Spirituality and prayer — Books that help readers deepen their relationship with God, from introductory guides to advanced contemplative works
- Theology and Scripture — Accessible works that make the riches of Catholic theology available to ordinary readers
- Parish and ministry resources — Practical tools for catechists, youth ministers, RCIA directors, and parish leaders
- Catholic living — Books on marriage, family, parenting, grief, aging, and the everyday challenges of living out the faith
- Memoirs and biographies — Stories of Catholic lives that inspire and instruct
Among the most beloved titles in the Ave Maria Press catalog is He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ—the extraordinary memoir of a Jesuit priest who spent 23 years in Soviet prisons and labor camps in Siberia. The book, first published in 1973, has become one of the most widely read Catholic spiritual classics of the 20th century and remains in print to this day.
The Holy Cross Tradition
Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the United States Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross—the same religious community that founded and continues to sponsor the University of Notre Dame, as well as other institutions including King's College, Stonehill College, and the University of Portland.
The Holy Cross charism—a particular blend of zeal for education, devotion to Our Lady, and commitment to making the faith accessible to all people—permeates everything Ave Maria Press does. This is not a publisher chasing bestseller lists or following market trends. It is a ministry with a mission: to help people grow in faith.
That does not mean the books are parochial or unsophisticated. Ave Maria Press authors include some of the most respected names in Catholic thought and spirituality. The press maintains high editorial standards and produces books that are both intellectually serious and deeply pastoral.
Why Books Still Matter
In an age of podcasts, streaming video, and social media, it is fair to ask whether a book publisher still matters. The answer, for anyone who has ever been changed by a book, is obvious.
Books go deep in a way that other media cannot. A podcast episode might inspire you for thirty minutes. A social media post might provoke a moment of thought. But a book—a good book, read slowly, returned to again and again—can reshape the way you see God, yourself, and the world. The Catholic tradition has always understood this. From the Rule of St. Benedict's emphasis on lectio divina to the Jesuits' tradition of spiritual reading, the Church has known for centuries that the written word is one of the most powerful tools for the transformation of souls.
Ave Maria Press has been providing those tools for 160 years.
Why This Matters
Ave Maria Press is not just another publisher -- it is a 160-year-old ministry of the Congregation of Holy Cross, rooted on the grounds of Notre Dame, that has shaped the spiritual lives of millions of Catholics. Books like Fr. Walter Ciszek's He Leadeth Me would likely not exist without this press. Their parish ministry resources -- RCIA programs, Bible studies, formation curricula -- are the backbone of adult catechesis in countless American parishes. If Ave Maria Press disappeared, the Church would lose one of its most prolific and trusted sources of spiritual reading, and parishes would scramble to replace resources they have relied on for decades.
How You Can Support
- Buy a book — Browse the catalog at avemariapress.com and find your next spiritual read
- Gift a book — Catholic books make meaningful gifts for sacramental milestones, holidays, and times of need
- Recommend to your parish — Ave Maria Press offers excellent resources for RCIA, Bible studies, book clubs, and ministry formation
- Follow them online — Stay up to date on new releases and author events through their website and social media
- Leave a review — If an Ave Maria Press book has impacted your faith, leave a review online to help other readers discover it
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What is the Catholic book that has had the biggest impact on your faith? We would love to hear your recommendations in the comments.
Ave Maria Press
- Website: avemariapress.com
- Location: P.O. Box 428, Notre Dame, IN 46556
- Phone: (800) 282-1865
- Social Media: Facebook, X, Instagram — search @AveMaria Press
- DCB Listing: Find Ave Maria Press on Discover Catholic Business
Sources: Ave Maria Press Official Website, Ave Maria Press History, University of Notre Dame Archives