Messner Publications Inc

What Messner Publications Inc does

LPi (legal entity LPi Digital, LLC, formerly Messner Publications Inc) is a privately held, U.S.-focused parish communications company founded in 1976 and headquartered in New Berlin, Wisconsin. The company provides an integrated communications platform for Catholic parishes, combining print and digital bulletin publishing, sponsor-funded websites under the WeConnect brand, Catholic art and content delivered through WeCreate, and custom logos and branding services. Its production infrastructure prints approximately 20 million pages per week and delivers 90,000 advertisements weekly across a network of 5,000+ churches.

The underlying technology stack is a digital content management and print production platform with self-service portals: the WeCreate digital art library, WeConnect website hosting, LPi Express Dashboard for file upload/submission, the Ad Creator Studio for self-service ad design, and the LPi Dashboard for centralized account access. The platform integrates with design tools including Adobe InDesign and, as of 2026, provides free Canva Pro access for parishes to replace the discontinued Microsoft Publisher workflow. Distribution is primarily direct-to-parish sales via phone and web forms, supported by inside sales for local and national advertisers and self-serve portals for ongoing ad management.

The business model is predominantly advertising-supported, supplemented by recurring bulletin subscriptions and professional services. Local businesses purchase ad placements in bulletins, parish websites, and email newsletters (90,000 ads delivered weekly), while national advertisers buy across 6,000+ parish and community publications. WeConnect websites are free to parishes and funded by local business sponsors. Additional revenue comes from custom logo and branding projects and from the WeCreate content library bundled with bulletin subscriptions. Pricing is opaque and quote-based for church services; websites are intentionally free to the parish buyer.

Name

Messner Publications Inc

Legal name

LPi Digital, LLC

Website

https://messnerpublications.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

LPi (Messner Publications Inc) provides integrated print and digital communications for U.S. Catholic parishes, serving 5,000+ churches with bulletins, sponsor-funded websites, Catholic art content, and branding services supported by local and national advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Parish Communications Services

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters) (MPAJAHAI)

Keywords

• Parish communications services
• Church bulletin publishing
• Catholic website hosting
• Local business advertising
• Religious branding services

Headquarters

HQ city

New Berlin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Bulletin Services: LPi provides print and digital bulletin services to churches, generating revenue through parish subscriptions and advertising fees from local businesses that advertise in bulletins
2. Advertising Solutions: Local and national advertising placements in parish bulletins, websites, and email newsletters. Local businesses purchase ad space while LPi handles design and placement. The company also offers national advertising solutions across 6,000+ publications
3. Website Platform (WeConnect): Sponsor-funded free websites for parishes; LPi monetizes through business sponsor placements on parish websites
4. Logo and Branding Services: Catholic design team creates unique logos and branding for parishes
5. Digital Art Content (WeCreate): Catholic art library included with bulletin service, providing graphics and content for bulletins, websites, and social media

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

LPi provides integrated parish communications services to 5,000+ Catholic churches in the United States, including weekly print and digital bulletin publishing, sponsor-funded WeConnect parish websites, Catholic-themed logo and branding design, and access to the WeCreate library of Catholic art, saint biographies, and weekly reflections. Revenue is generated through parish subscriptions for bulletin and content services, fees for branding and design projects, and advertising sold to local and national businesses that place ads in bulletins, websites, and email newsletters.

Product overview

LPi provides an integrated parish communications platform serving over 5,000 churches with four core products: Church Bulletins (print and digital publishing printing 20 million pages weekly), WeConnect Websites (sponsor-funded fee-free parish websites), Logos & Branding (Catholic design team for visual identity), and WeCreate (digital art and content library with Catholic graphics, weekly reflections, and social media content). These products work together to enable parishes to communicate with congregations through bulletins, websites, and digital content. Additional services include advertising solutions, the LPi Express Dashboard for print submission, Hardbound Books for annual binding, and Ad Creator Studio for self-service ad creation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WeConnect: A parish website platform providing professional church websites at no cost to parishes, funded by local business sponsors.
• WeCreate
• LPi Express
• Ad Creator Studio

Products and services

• LPi Church Bulletins (Print & Digital) Print and digital bulletin publishing service for Catholic parishes, producing weekly bulletins distributed in print and digital form, with parish-driven advertising placements that generate sponsor revenue.
• WeConnect Websites Sponsor-funded, fee-free parish website platform offering professional design, hosting, mobile-friendly pages, and training for Catholic parishes.
• Logos & Branding Custom logo and branding design service provided by LPi's Catholic design team to establish a unique visual identity for individual parishes.
• WeCreate Digital Art & Content Digital library of Catholic art, graphics, saint biographies, cover art, weekly reflections, and social media content (including Spanish-language content) for use in parish bulletins, websites, and social media.
• LPi Advertising Solutions Advertising placement service placing local and national business advertisements in church bulletins, digital publications, email banners, and parish website sponsorships across 6,000+ parish and community publications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 million pages printed per week across network
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Archdiocese of New OrleansmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2025LPi partnered with the Archdiocese of New Orleans to support the Clarion Herald—the official Catholic newspaper of the archdiocese. This partnership extends LPi's reach in supporting Catholic media organizations.
• Amazing Parish SummitcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 September 2024LPi served as a sponsor at the 2024 Amazing Parish Summit in San Antonio, a major annual event for pastors and parish leadership. LPi gave away a $3,495 website and branding package. The event attracted 700+ attendees.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Our Sunday Visitor: Our Sunday Visitor publishes Catholic periodicals, parish resources, and faith-based content used by US Catholic parishes, directly overlapping LPi's bulletin and Catholic content offerings.
• Liturgical Press: Liturgical Press publishes Catholic worship, liturgy, and ministry resources, comparable to the WeCreate Catholic art, saint biographies, and weekly reflection content LPi distributes to parishes.
• Subsplash: Subsplash offers church apps, websites, and digital engagement tools; it is an emerging direct competitor to LPi's WeConnect websites and Catholic content distribution for parishes.
• Flocknote: Flocknote provides email, texting, and digital communications tools for parishes and dioceses, directly competing with LPi's bulletin-adjacent digital communications and WeConnect website business.
• Planning Center (Church Center): Planning Center is a church management SaaS suite used by 70,000+ parishes that competes directly with LPi for parish communications, websites, and content distribution workflows.
• Sharefaith: Sharefaith provides church websites, graphics, worship media, and bulletin templates, offering a digital-first alternative to LPi's bulletin, branding, and art content services.
• ParishSOFT (Diocesan): ParishSOFT provides parish and diocesan management software used by Catholic parishes, overlapping with LPi's parish communications and website offerings at the parish admin layer.

Broad incumbents

• Pushpay: Pushpay is a large church engagement and giving platform that increasingly bundles communications, websites, and content tools, competing with LPi at the parish software stack level.
• Tithe.ly: Tithe.ly is a church giving and engagement platform with websites, mass email, and content tools; it competes with LPi for parish digital communication and website spend.
• Faithlife (Logos): Faithlife publishes Christian (broader than Catholic) content, devotionals, and digital tools and is comparable to LPi as an established faith-content publisher expanding into parish digital workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/messner-publications-inc

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 Messner Publications Inc