Benziger strives to provide the most innovative and comprehensive catechetical material for the Catholic parish. Benziger differentiates itself in several important ways.

• Benziger incorporates the learning and mentoring experiences of the entire parish community and involves each learner's family in a faith journey.
• The goal of Benziger's catechetical programs is an adult believer of mature Catholic faith brought about through a lifetime of catechetical learning experiences.
• Using a "know, love, and serve" approach, the Benziger ministry involves the entire person—mind, heart, and hands—in the faith experience.
• Benziger's materials are presented in an interesting, clear, and easy-to-use format for both teachers and learners.

Benziger's Six Priorities: 1. Evangelization:
It is the entire parish community that teaches and witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ and his Church. Catechetical ministry must involve the entire parish community; it cannot rest on the shoulders of the catechists alone.

2. Faith Formation:
Catechesis is not simply an intellectual assent. Faith is a movement of the mind and the heart that responds, " Yes, Lord, I believe." Catechetical ministry must involve a movement of the heart, as well as, the mind.

3. Initiation:
Faith is a process that involves learning and experiencing Christ in the faith community of the Church. Catechetical ministry cannot be separated from parish mentoring or the Sacraments.

4. Fidelity:
God created the world to communicate his great love. The Word of God became flesh so all could know the wonders of God's love. Catechetical ministry puts flesh on the rich tradition of Church teaching and is faithful to that teaching.

5. Inculturation:
The Holy Spirit speaks the language of the time and culture of each generation of believers. Catechesis must speak in the media, language, and culture of those who need to hear Good News.

6. Family:
The core community of faith is the family. Catechesis should involve the faith formation of each family. Catechetical ministry always reaches out to assist faith sharing in the home.

IN THE BEGINNING

Benziger was born at the Marian shrine of Einsiedeln, a monastic center in the mountains south of Zurich, Switzerland. Since the 15th century, pilgrims have come to Einsiedeln to see the painting of the Madonna. Here the Benziger family began and thrived—first as merchants of crosses and other religious souvenirs carved from the plentiful local woods. In 1792, Joseph Charles Benziger began selling devotional books along with other religious articles.

	BENZIGER BROTHERS
	By 1833, two of Joseph Benziger's sons were operating a publishing business under the name "Charles and Nicholas Benziger Brothers." Charles devoted himself to the literary side of the business, which now offered a wide range of trade books in addition to devotional works. Nicholas brought in technical innovations including, by 1844, some of the first power presses.

	GERMAN CATHOLIC IMMIGRATION
	A combination of government repression at home and opportunities in the New World led to a great wave of emigration by German-speaking Catholics in the 19th century. German immigrants brought their faith, their strong social commitment, and their intellectual curiosity to the Atlantic Coast, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the Midwest, profoundly shaping the Church in the United States.

	OFF TO AMERICA
	In the mid-19th century, the firm of Benziger was on the way to becoming the largest and most distinguished publisher in Switzerland. Notified of the needs of German-speaking immigrants, members of the Benziger family were dispatched to America to sell books and religious articles.

	SPREADING THE WORD
	In the early years of this country, religious education, like most schooling, took place in the home. Books were sources of information and entertainment in a rural culture, and most parents read aloud to their children. The Benziger sales wagon brought a welcome supply of books—including bibles and prayer books—to communities up and down the Ohio River.

AN AMERICAN COMPANY

The first Benziger sales office opened in New York in 1853 to sell books in German, English, and Polish. By 1897, the American Benziger Company had become totally independent of the Swiss branch, and offices had been added in Cincinnati and Chicago. The third generation of Benzigers published Catholic educational, theological, and liturgical works, as well as general-interest trade books and magazines.

THE GROWING YEARS

Over the years, Benziger continued to provide quality publishing to American Catholics. In 1968, Benziger was acquired by Crowell Collier Macmillan (later to become Macmillan, Inc.), and the following year its headquarters were moved to California. In 1971, it was merged with two other CCM companies—Bruce Publishing, founded in Milwaukee in the 1890s, and Glencoe Press, began in Beverly Hills in 1966. Benziger was acquired by Macmillan in 1968 which in turn was acquired by The McGraw-Hill Companies in 1993. In 2007, CFM Religion Publishing Group acquired both Benziger and RCL �E Resources for Christian Living and combined them to form RCL Benziger Publishing. RCL Benziger is located in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

	A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
	Today, RCL Benziger maintains the fine tradition of its founders by providing the best in Catholic religious and family life education for all ages, firmly based in the heritage and experience of the past and committed to a continuing standard of excellence and innovation. It is RCL Benziger's mission to renew the Gospel message every day!

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