The Revitalization of the Catholic Church Through Entrepreneurship
“By your work you show what you love and what you know” (St. Bruno).
The Catholic Church has experienced great transformation throughout the centuries, yet part of her beauty has always been her maintenance of tradition and natural law. The United States, despite great change and cultural divide, has similarly maintained its tradition of entrepreneurship and love of small business. People on both sides of the aisle can agree that it is good for individuals to develop new ideas and succeed in the market. Successful entrepreneurship at its best is the realization of truth, beauty, and goodness in the economy.
My husband and I do our fair share of traveling, and in all of the churches that we’ve visited around the world, I can’t help but notice a lack of engagement with the laity through ministry—at least engagement with laity that matches the energy of the American Catholic Church. Of course, I am not embedded in the culture, so I don’t know what’s truly going on within a parish. It could be that many of these churches, given their histories, are primarily focused on education and preservation. Still, there is something unique about the American church that, like our American culture, encourages new ideas and revitalization.
The American Catholic Church seems to be in a particularly interesting era of revitalization that reflects its national heritage of entrepreneurship. We see new ministries developing to cater to people on the margins of society and of the Church. We hear stories of discipleship and sainthood in the 20th and 21st centuries. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, America’s first TV evangelist, is a prime example of evangelization in this new age. At Catholic Women in Business, we see women bringing light into the world by writing about their experiences in child-rearing, forming businesses, and managing people in an effort to inspire other women to further Christ’s mission on earth.
Christ-centered Businesses: Fortresses in Spiritual Warfare
Founders and groups of faithful people are coming together to revitalize classical education at the elementary-, middle-, and high-school levels across the nation. New Catholic colleges and medical schools are forming, filling a need to teach the truth to the nation’s youth at a time when many of our largest Catholic institutions increasingly cater to un-Christian ideologies. The Catholic College of St. Joseph the Worker in Ohio, for example, teaches students a skilled trade while earning a bachelor’s degree. The entrepreneurs who developed the idea for this college say their goal is to “produce faithful Christians who are virtuous citizens, intellectually formed, and capable of building up the church in their communities.”
Officials at Benedictine College in Kansas have similarly responded to an increasingly secular health care and medical education system by developing a Catholic medical school based on the work of Padre Pio. The goal of the institution is “to train physicians in an environment steeped in Catholic values related to contraception, abortion and end-of-life issues.”
“The Chosen,” produced by Angel Studios, depicts the Gospels without the backing of any major institution or Hollywood studio.
The founders of these schools; the people behind Angel Studios; crafters and makers on Etsy; authors, podcasters, and contributors … They are all entrepreneurs revitalizing Christ’s mission on earth. They see a need and seek to meet that need with business ideas that point to Christ, knowing that he is the only one who can satisfy our spiritual needs. These new businesses and missions are helping to rebuild the kingdom of Heaven on earth and mark spiritual strongholds for the faithful in our country.
Female Entrepreneurs at the Forefront
For women specifically, revitalization through business is an American tradition that was perhaps most pronounced during the years of World War II. Women filled the employment gap left by the men who joined the military, maintaining the economy and supporting the war effort. Five million daughters, wives, and mothers joined the workforce between 1940 and 1945 (cue Rosie the Riveter), marking this mobilization as one of the most extraordinary economic eras in our nation’s history.
While the Catholic Church may not be engaged in a war at the physical level, we are nevertheless battling evil forces in the massive spiritual battle that characterizes 2023 American society. Just as our mothers and grandmothers did during WWII, Catholic women are mobilizing to help proclaim the good news and evangelize through creative means, much like St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. Joan of Arc. Time will reveal many St. Sarahs of Texas or St. Olivias of Philadelphia.
Shannon Wendt is a mother and founder ChewsLife, which makes silicone rosaries for babies and toddlers (they can be safely chewed on!), with the mission of equipping every Catholic with one of our greatest weapons. Michelle Benzinger, Sister Miriam James Heidland, and Heather Khym provide a delightful source of spiritual connection and encouragement with their weekly podcast, “Abiding Together.” Jeanne Mancini leads March for Life, the foremost organization in the pro-life movement.
God-centered Entrepreneurship: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness
This era of entrepreneurship gives me hope. Christ is present wherever two or three are gathered in his name (Matthew 18:20), and these entrepreneurs are making places and spaces where Catholics can commune outside of Mass and the parish hall. Keeping with the tradition of Catholicism that led to the development of hospitals and education for all children, these businesses will transform society and bring justice to our world—for we can only have justice where God is present.
Of course, not all ideas are good, and many Catholic businesses will fail. Some “ministries” contradict Christ’s teachings and the Church’s mission on earth, which will ultimately lead to their failure. Christian persecution is also rampant around the world. In America, it appears in the form of silencing (i.e. shadow banning), anti-religious sentiment and legislation, church vandalism and burnings, and economic intimidation. It may be difficult for a Catholic business to succeed in these conditions.
As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI predicted in 1969:
From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge—a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity.
As the number of her adherents diminishes, so she will lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, it will be seen much more like a voluntary society, entered only by free decision.
As a small society, it will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly it will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession.
Developing a Catholic business despite risky or hostile conditions is entrepreneurial and may even be the cause for one’s future sainthood. I’m personally inspired by the individuals and groups of people who are renewing the faith with ideas that speak to our 2,000+-year-old tradition in new ways. The Church may be dwindling in numbers, but through new ideas, businesses, and art that evangelize, I believe she will re-emerge with revitalized spirit.
Margo White lives in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania with her husband and two dogs. A lover of the elderly and healthcare, and inspired by St. Catherine of Siena's care of the sick, she works as Healthcare Coordinator for the senior population to help them age-in-place. Margo spends her free time reading, planning travel adventures, and learning new things - her new favorite is skeet shooting! She can be reached at margohwhite@gmail.com.