Catholic Truth Society

What Catholic Truth Society does

Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a UK-based Catholic publishing house and registered charity (No. 218951) operating as a private limited company (Company No. 00057374), founded in 1868 and headquartered at Cabrini Community Campus in London. The organization publishes and distributes Catholic literature, liturgical materials, and faith-formation resources through a catalog of 691+ publications spanning A6 pocket booklets, A5 booklets, full-length books, lectionaries, missals, prayer cards, papal documents, and Bibles, plus 345 ebook titles. Its core offerings include the annual CTS Sunday Missal, Divine Worship Ordinariate missals, sacramental preparation materials for parishes, and a growing suite of audio and video content (CTS Audio, Into the Truth podcast, CTS Music, Good Habits series, YouTube channel). The Emmaus Road Publishing imprint supports contemporary Catholic authors, and a topical Pope Leo XIV collection has been launched.

CTS operates a hybrid go-to-market model. Direct-to-consumer sales run through the ctsbooks.org e-commerce site (WordPress + WooCommerce with Stripe payment processing), a phone order line, and email orders. Retail trade distribution to bookshops is outsourced to Norwich Books and Music (since May 2017), while special-order items are fulfilled via Ingram Lightning Source print-on-demand. Recurring donor revenue is collected through Direct Debit via Access Paysuite. Pricing is unit-based in GBP, with parish and school discount accounts, bulk discounts, and free UK carriage on orders over £500.

The company serves four primary customer segments: Catholic parishes (liturgical, sacramental, and catechetical needs), Catholic schools (religious education and sacramental preparation), individual Catholics (devotional and spiritual reading), and retail bookshops (via Norwich distribution). Ebooks are also distributed through Amazon Kindle, Apple iBook, and Kobo. Marketing spans organic content (blog, Substack, weekly email newsletter, Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube) with a 10% newsletter-signup incentive. CTS is PCI-DSS-compliant for card processing and UK-GDPR-registered with the ICO (Z6590386). No revenue, headcount, or financial figures are disclosed.

Name

Catholic Truth Society

Legal name

The Catholic Truth Society

Website

https://ctsbooks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Catholic Truth Society is a UK-based Catholic publishing house and registered charity founded in 1868, publishing missals, lectionaries, sacramental preparation materials, booklets, and ebooks for Catholic parishes, schools, individual Catholics, and retail bookshops via direct e-commerce and Norwich Books and Music distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Education & Catechetical Publishing (Sunday School, Catechism, Study Guides) (MPAJAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Worship & Liturgy Publishing (Liturgical Texts, Missals, Service Books, Hymnals) (MPAJAHAE), Sacred Texts & Scripture Publishing (Bibles, Qur’ans, Vedas, Torah, Sutras) (MPAJAHAA), Devotional & Prayer Publishing (Devotionals, Prayer Books, Meditation Guides) (MPAJAHAB), Religious Nonfiction & Theology Publishing (Apologetics, Doctrine, Ethics) (MPAJAHAG)

Keywords

• Catholic publishing
• Religious literature
• Liturgical books
• Catechetical resources
• Faith formation materials

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: One-time sales of Catholic publications including books, booklets, missals, prayer cards, liturgical items, and ebooks. Products range from pocket-sized A6 booklets to large-format liturgical books. Online sales processed securely via Stripe PCI-compliant payment processing.
2. Donations: As a registered charity (No. 218951), CTS relies on supporter donations to fund its mission. Donation options available online with various preset amounts. Accepts donations via credit/debit card, Electronic Direct Debit, Bank Transfer and Cheque.
3. Parish and Trade Accounts: Parish distributor discount accounts offering standard discounts on A6 booklets, leaflets, children's books and Vatican documents. Retail trade bookshop accounts through Norwich Books and Music with standard trade discounts. Bulk purchase discounts available to all customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Catholic Truth Society is a Catholic publishing house and registered charity that publishes and sells Catholic literature, liturgical books, missals, lectionaries, papal documents, prayer cards, and catechetical resources. The portfolio of over 691 publications spans pocket-sized A6 booklets to large-format liturgical books, with 345 ebook titles also available. Products are sold directly via the ctsbooks.org e-commerce site, telephone, and email, and through Norwich Books and Music for retail trade customers.

Product overview

Catholic Truth Society operates as a Catholic publisher offering a diverse portfolio of religious publications and media. The core offerings include liturgical books (missals, lectionaries, Divine Worship materials), print publications (A6 and A5 booklets, papal documents, Bibles, children's materials), digital products (ebooks available on Kindle, iBook, and Kobo), and audio/video content (free audiobooks, podcasts, music). CTS also provides parish resources for sacramental preparation and distributes through Norwich Books and Music for retail trade. The product portfolio spans from traditional print missals and prayer cards to contemporary digital formats, serving Catholic parishes, individuals, schools, and retail bookshops.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CTS Sunday Missal 2027

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Norwich Books and MusiccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorwich Books and Music became CTS's distribution partner on 1st May 2017. They manage all orders, customer service, finances and distribution for retail trade bookshop customers. CTS chose Norwich Books and Music due to their excellent service record to ensure best possible delivery service for bookshop customers. Retail bookshops should place orders directly with Norwich Books and Music rather than CTS.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Our Sunday Visitor: US Catholic publishing and parish resources company producing missals, lectionaries, catechetical materials and parish bulletins. Closely comparable to CTS in its parish and school serving B2B model and liturgical product range.
• Catholic Book Publishing Corp: US Catholic publisher specializing in Bibles, missals, prayer books and liturgical editions with elaborate covers and gift editions. Directly comparable to CTS in liturgical book product category.
• Pauline Books and Media: Catholic publisher and retailer operated by the Daughters of St Paul, producing books, media and catechetical materials worldwide. Comparable to CTS as a religious-order-affiliated Catholic publisher with both online and physical distribution.
• TAN Books: Catholic publisher focused on reprints of classic Catholic works plus new devotional and catechetical titles. Comparable to CTS in product mix of missals, prayer books, and Catholic nonfiction for parishes and individuals.
• Sophia Institute Press: Catholic publisher of theology, philosophy, Scripture, and devotional books with strong parish and school distribution. Comparable to CTS in its mix of intellectual Catholic nonfiction and devotional publications.
• Ignatius Press: US-based Catholic publisher producing catechetical, theological and devotional titles with a similar mission to CTS. Directly comparable as a faithful Catholic publishing house competing for the English-speaking Catholic market.
• Ave Maria Press: University of Notre Dame-affiliated Catholic publisher producing parish resources, theology, and youth ministry materials. Directly comparable to CTS in the catechetical and parish resource category.
• St Pauls (UK): UK-based Catholic publisher, bookseller and media distributor serving the same UK Catholic market as CTS. Closely comparable geographic peer competing for the same parish, school and individual Catholic customer base.

Regional players

• Veritas Publications: Ireland's leading Catholic publisher and bookstore chain producing catechetical, school and liturgical materials. Comparable to CTS as a regional Catholic publisher but operating primarily in the Irish market rather than the UK.

Broad incumbents

• HarperCollins Christian Publishing: Major Christian publishing division of HarperCollins producing Bibles, Christian living and Catholic/Protestant titles at scale. Broad incumbent that overlaps with CTS in Bibles, devotionals and religious nonfiction though not specialized to Catholic publishing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ctspublishers
• YouTubeyoutube.com/catholictruthsociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/CTSpublishers
• Instagraminstagram.com/catholictruthsociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/catholic-truth-society---publishers-to-the-holy-see

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Catholic Truth Society