St. Anthony Messenger Press Acquires Charis Book

Posted on October 17, 2003

St. Anthony Messenger Press, a 10-year-old Catholic publisher, announced that it has acquired Charis Books, the Catholic imprint of Servant Publications of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The acquisition brings the combined list of St. Anthony Messenger Press books and Charis books to over 370 titles, an increase of 50 percent.

St. Anthony Messenger Press, a member of the Catholic Book Publishers Association and the Catholic Press Association, will handle all operations for the Charis imprint in its Cincinnati offices and warehouse. St. Anthony Messenger Press is a ministry of the Franciscans of St. John the Baptist Province, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"Both presses have the same mission of communicating the gospel in a popular way," said St. Anthony Messenger Press Publisher Rev. Jeremy Harrington, O.F.M. "We will continue to publish new books in the Charis line and build on the important legacy of Servant Publications and Charis Books. We look forward to working with the talented authors of Charis Books."

With the acquisition of the Charis imprint, Harrington said St. Anthony Messenger Press "expects to penetrate the trade bookstore market more deeply and to offer a wider variety of Catholic books to the Catholic institutional market, such as parishes, schools, retreat centers and libraries, as well as to individual customers."

"Over several decades as a book publisher," Harrington said, "St. Anthony Messenger Press has been able to offer the best of contemporary Catholic theology and spirituality on a popular level with successful authors such as Richard Rohr, Eugene Kennedy, Murray Bodo, Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, Gloria Hutchinson, Bishop Robert Morneau, Raymond Brown and Alfred McBride. Charis Books also has many inspirational authors, including Mother Teresa, Scott Hahn, Benedict Groeschel, Bert Ghezzi, Alan Schreck and Henri Nouwen -- all of whom have written to foster spiritual renewal of individuals and the church."