Benedictine monks use cards, technology to spread Gospel message

Published: 2003-10-13

CONCEPTION, Mo. (CNS) -- The simple, black-and-white logo of the Printery House depicts a robed monk bent over a desk who appears to be laboring carefully over a manuscript. The image is a nostalgic one for the greeting card and gift line sold by Conception Abbey and Seminary in Conception through its publishing branch. But it's far from the reality. Although the Benedictine monks at the Printery House still wear their traditional robes, they ply their ancient trade with the assistance of high-tech, state-of-the-art computers, scanners, laser engravings and a Swedish four-color printing press. Instead of copying manuscripts by hand as monks once did, they produce up to 6 million greeting cards sold around the world. And even if the messages on the cards are divinely inspired, there are also spreadsheets to tally up the best-selling items and market surveys to poll customers on which new designs are the most appealing. And when Benedictine Brother William Buchholz, director of the Printery House, starts work each morning, he knows he is not only charged with preserving and spreading the Gospel message, but he has to do it better than greeting-card industry giants such as Hallmark Cards and American Greetings, which also have begun to produce religious cards.

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