This story begins, like many others, with a setting and a character. It’s 1912 in Chicago, and Fr. William P. Lyons, SJ, has recently founded a nonprofit Catholic publishing ministry for what was then the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus. The first publication, a campus newspaper for Loyola University Chicago, is a thin one—just four pages long. You have to start somewhere.

Soon, Loyola Press began to produce college textbooks, as well as a digest for Catholic schoolteachers. High school and grade school textbooks followed, and through the decades, the operation sticks to what it knows best. Eventually a trade division is established to complement the curriculum division, and more than 100 years later, the ministry is one of the Midwest Jesuits’ leading works.

“When I hear that, I am elated,” says Joellyn Cicciarelli, president and publisher of Loyola Press (LP) since 2018. “But I also feel a lot of responsibility. Our reach is broad, and our reach is far. But we’re clearly focused on Ignatian spirituality and our mission to educate and catechize.”

A former schoolteacher, Cicciarelli has more than 25 years of experience in educational publishing, including a period as editor of 12 books by Fred Rogers of the television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Since 2002, she’s been involved in product development and innovation at Loyola Press, which, in its history, has served more than 40 million students, with nine million of them in the last decade alone. To date, LP books have been published in 55 countries and 19 languages.

While the trade division has landed two books on The New York Times Best Seller list (Dear Pope Francis by Pope Francis and The Gift of Peace by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin), LP’s textbooks in the curriculum division have enjoyed the longest runs of success.

“I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve sustained ourselves and thrived over the past 100 years,” Cicciarelli says. “If there’s one thing for certain, kids have to go to school.”

Two faith formation books for K–8 students have been among LP’s most successful: 1973’s Christ Our Life, written by the Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio, and 2005’s Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts, which follows Ignatian pedagogy.

Another classic title is Voyages in English, a comprehensive grammar and writing textbook series developed in 1943 by the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) in Philadelphia. Used by all Catholic schools in Philadelphia at first, and then in Chicago, Voyages ended up being the English book of the 1950s for 85% of U.S. dioceses. Today, it’s also used in public and charter school classrooms. In his memoir, the late journalist Tim Russert, a John Carroll University alum, cites Voyages as a textbook that made him a better reader and writer.

“From the beginning, Loyola Press has had a strong relationship with the IHMs, and when we embark on a new edition, we either fly out to Immaculata University, where their motherhouse is, or they come here,” Ciccarelli says. Because the sisters are teachers, they pilot the new lessons and offer feedback.

IHM sisters also proofread, create promotional videos, and speak at the National Catholic Education Association convention about the book. In exchange, Loyola Press pays them royalties. “We’re proud that we’ve been able to contribute to the order in that way,” Cicciarelli says.

Most good stories have twists and turns, and most good businesses have to evolve to survive. Which is why Loyola Press has a trade division offering non-curriculum children’s books and books for adults on secular and pastoral leadership, Ignatian spirituality, prayer, and Bible study.

Many titles are now available in both English and Spanish, as well as print, e-book, and audiobook formats. There’s also a podcast, Carpool Catechesis, and QR codes leading kids to videos, interactive games, audio recordings, and more.

“Saint Ignatius said, ‘Go in their door and take them out yours,’” Cicciarelli says. “For us, that means find out how people want to consume the content and then provide the content in that way. The faith doesn’t change, but the way people want to receive it has changed, and we’ve been agile.”

Recent and forthcoming titles include The Freedom of Missing Out by Midwest Jesuit Fr. Michael Rossmann, an antidote for anyone struggling with the fear of missing out; Forgive Everyone Everything by Fr. Gregory Boyle, SJ (founder of Homeboy Industries), which includes reflections accompanied by street art; and Silent Night, an illustrated children’s book about the creation and history of the beloved Christmas carol, including sheet music and an option to download the song and sing along.

Loyola Press took yet another step forward this year when it relocated—for the first time in 97 years—from its Chicago headquarters on Ashland Avenue to a more technologically modern spot near O’Hare International Airport.

One wonders what Fr. Lyons might think of the ministry he founded 110 years ago.

“First of all, I think he would chuckle at the fact that Voyages in English is still in print,” Cicciarelli says. “I think he would also be consoled that we really haven’t strayed from the original vision of the Press, which was to bring religious education and catechesis to children and young people.”