‘A Cathedral in Print’: The rise of Catholic premium Bibles

Says one Bible reviewer, Tim Wildsmith, Catholic Bible publishers “have clearly recognized the value of producing durable, beautiful, reader-friendly Bibles.” Not surprisingly, as a result, he says, “demand is growing, and so are the options.” One Catholic publishing house has met that challenge: Word on Fire. In 2020, it launched its Word on Fire Bible series. Was this Bible series created as a response to a need, or an attempt to create a whole new genre, namely, premium Bibles for a Catholic audience? Brandon Vogt, Executive Publishing Director of Word on Fire Publishing, gives the threefold rationale behind the series. “First, there’s the commentary content” with “a whole chorus of voices – saints, mystics, artists, scholars – from across the 2,000-year tradition of the Church. It presents Scripture from the heart of the Church, as Dei Verbum commends.” Second, Vogt says the aim was to create “the most beautiful Bible of our time. And third, Word on Fire wanted to change the experience of reading Sacred Scripture.