Looking to compete with low prices and free shipping, Catholic bookstores strive to provide what online retailers cannot—Catholic community and education.
Even as online shopping becomes more convenient and pervasive, there is no replacing the experience of walking into a store and interacting with a knowledgeable and helpful proprietor. This is particularly true of Catholic bookstores, which can provide not only solid catechetical materials and spiritual reading, but also a place where those seeking to learn more about the Faith and the sacraments can find assistance and a sympathetic ear.
“I don’t look at my store as a business; it is a ministry,” says Tinsley Ducote of Alexandria, Louisiana. She has run Mary’s Heart Catholic Bookstore for the last 10 years, working in the store six days a week, mostly on her own.
“I’m here to evangelize and save souls,” says Ducote, a convert to Catholicism. “I don’t even draw a check because I want every dime I make to go back into my store. My mission is to save souls.”
In an effort to help Catholic stores keep a foothold in a competitive retail environment increasingly dominated by online sellers, this July, Ignatius Press (which publishes Catholic World Report) is marking its third annual Catholic Store Month. More than 500 stores have registered to participate in the event, which will include in-store promotions and giveaways, as well as discounts on Ignatius Press products.
“When Ignatius Press planned the first Catholic Store Month, our staff hoped to remind the buying public that while Catholic stores have contributed to a vibrant faith for many decades, their survival is certainly not guaranteed,” Anthony Ryan, director of marketing and sales for Ignatius Press, said in a press release. “It is our job to help them advance the Catholic faith, and to help keep their doors open.”
The Catholic bookstore has long been a mainstay in the American Church, often serving as a hub for Catholic community as well as a source of solid information and spiritual guidance, particularly in small towns.
In Opelousas, Louisiana, the Cursillo movement has a strong presence in the form of a retreat center and bookstore. Begun in Spain to re-evangelize the people following the Spanish Civil War, the Cursillo movement was brought to the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana by Franciscan friar Father Fedelis Albright for the same purpose. The center in Opelousas was founded in 1964, and its bookstore opened in 1982.
Andrée Daugereaux has worked at the store for 10 years. She describes the store’s mission in this way: “To evangelize the poorly- and un-educated in the Faith by providing them with good and solid Catholic books, movies, and talks to assist them in building and nourishing their spiritual lives. That will help them with service in their communities and church parishes.” The bookstore is open primarily for the Cursillo weekends as well as weekends when formation classes take place.
One challenge faced by bookstores of all kinds today—including Catholic bookstores—is the decline in reading as a hobby or intellectual pursuit, Daugereaux says. To engage those who “just aren’t big readers,” as she puts it, the Cursillo Bookstore also has a wide variety of talks on CD. These are popular among those in the area with long commutes.
But changing technology is the principal challenge for brick-and-mortar bookstores. “People want everything instantly delivered to them,” Daugereaux said. Catholic Store Month will help her customers get better deals on books, she says, and encourage them to remember the store the next time they’re looking for Catholic materials, “so we are not losing customers to Amazon and other online bookstores.”
There is something that sets local Catholic bookstores apart from online retailers, Daugereaux believes.
“Online stores have their use, but they aren’t evangelization oriented,” she said. “This is where I am hoping the Catholic Store Month will help support our mission to our Catholic family, so everyone will be able to nourish their spiritual lives and be the good news of Christ to the world.”
Inge Ossoinig and her husband moved to Iowa City, Iowa, from their home in Austria in 1971. In 1993, Inge and some friends opened a Catholic bookstore on a shoestring budget. Now, almost 25 years later, the Mustard Seed is going strong.
“In a university town with 30,000 students and 40,000 other people at the most, there was no place to go to find really good Catholic gifts,” Ossoinig said. “Baptismal gifts, something with the Hail Mary on it, nothing.” There was one Protestant store, she said, but they didn’t have anything specifically Catholic.
“If you wanted to learn anything about the Faith, you had to walk up to a priest and ask him—and good luck! They’re too busy, naturally,” said Ossoinig. She and some friends wanted to set up a small nonprofit organization to sell books, crucifixes, devotional images, and other Catholic items.
The work is not without its challenges, and its blessings. “Sometimes I come home and cry because it was so wonderful; other times I come home and cry because it was so maddening,” said Ossoinig.
Source: Catholic bookstores in the era of Amazon – Catholic World Report