100 years of Lit Press

Liturgical Press, the book publishing arm of St. John’s Abbey, is marking its 100th year of operation this October with a month of celebrations. The festivities include free art prints from the St. John’s Bible, campus events and a push to expand a prayer program for people in need.

The press was founded in 1926 by Fr. Virgil Michael, a monk of St. John’s Abbey. It began with a journal called Orate Fratres, now known as Worship. The journal came out of the liturgical movement of the 1920s, which encouraged people to take a more active part in the worship life of their churches.

Tara Durheim, director of marketing and sales at Liturgical Press, said the movement was already gaining attention in Europe when Michael decided to bring it to the United States.

“Fr. Virgil Michael wanted to bring that to the United States and help really enliven the people of faith here,” Durheim said.

The Abbey’s work grew from there. Durheim said the monastic community started several more publications, and the press became one of the leading Catholic book publishers in the country.

“We’re worldwide known for our work that we publish for the church,” Durheim said.

The press’ centennial month begins Thursday, Oct. 1. It marks the 100th anniversary of the first issue of Orate Fratres, which came out in October 1926.

The main draw for students is a giveaway of three prints from The St. John’s Bible, the hand lettered Bible produced at St. John’s. The prints are “Canticle of Mary,” “You Shall Love the Lord” and “Hear, O Israel.” Each is a small poster sized print. Anyone who visits the Liturgical Press showroom during October can take one print. The showroom is near Emmaus Hall and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The prints come from a partnership between the Liturgical Press and The St. John’s Bible. That partnership has also produced reproduction trade volumes of the Bible.

Durheim describes the press as a hidden gem in Collegeville. She said one of the goals of the centennial is to bring more of the campus community to the press. That includes students who are not theology majors or involved in campus ministry.

“Our work is really available for all folks,” Durheim said.

Several events are planned for the month. The main day of celebration is Saturday, Oct. 24. It will include a liturgy at the graveside of Fr. Virgil Michael in the Abbey Cemetery, followed by a liturgy at the Abbey Church.

The Liturgical Press has also posted a video series on its centennial website, litpress.org/100, that tells the story of its history and contributions to the Church. The videos are organized by theme rather than timeline. Episode 1, “Liturgical Renewal,” covers the liturgical renewal movement. Episode 6, “A richness of Experiences,” looks at the press’s Spanish language texts. Episode 7, “A Wellspring of Wisdom,” focuses on the women involved in the press’s ministry. The other videos cover the Liturgical Press’s influence on monastic life and Benedictine traditions and its academic publishing program. Seven videos are posted now, and another is coming soon.

Durheim believes the academic program had been moving scholarship forward in the church throughout the last 100 years.

The centennial also includes a development effort for Give Us This Day, a daily prayer resource published by the Liturgical Press. The press currently sends the resource to incarcerated people across the United States. Durheim said the program is “fully donor funded,” and that every issue sent to an incarcerated person is paid for by donors.

The press hopes to extend the program to hospice programs, nursing homes and hospital spiritual direction departments.

“There is a lot of communities in need that could really use a daily prayer resource like Give Us This Day, but as an institution, might not have the funding to support that,” Durheim said.

She said the press is asking supporters to give to the program as well as buy its books.

“We’d really love and encourage them to help us sustain our work and expand our work for the next century of our apostolate and our mission,” Durheim said.