Ascension Edition wins first place in the ACP’s Excellence in Publishing Awards.
The Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) announced today that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), Ascension Edition, has been chosen as the “Resource of the Year” in the 2023 Excellence in Publishing Awards (EPAs). The ACP’s “Resource of the Year” is selected annually from among 16 EPA category winners in a previous round of competition. The Ascension Edition of the Catechism had previously won 1st place in the “General Interest” category earlier this summer.
Ascension’s President and CEO Jonathan Strate welcomed the good news:
“We’re incredibly honored that the ACP has recognized the Ascension Edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as its 2023 Resource of the Year. As the Catechism celebrates its 30th anniversary year, our hope has been that Ascension’s Foundations of Faith approach would help Catholics encounter this beautiful text in a fresh and engaging new way.”
The ACP judges shared in their notes that the bonus content, vocabulary aids, and other Foundations of Faith elements in the Ascension Edition “make this Catechism eminently more accessible” to Catholic readers. The Resource of the Year is chosen based on a variety of criteria, including “audience appeal, potential impact on Catholic thinking, action, and faith/spirituality, and [potential for becoming] a Catholic ‘classic’ or bestseller.”
This award joins several others previously earned by the Ascension Edition of the Catechism. In June, the Catechism merited 1st place in “Popular Presentation of the Catholic Faith” and an honorable mention in “Reference / Academic Study” from the Catholic Book Awards hosted by the Catholic Media Association.
Bringing the Catechism to Print, Podcast, and App Formats
Ascension, a multimedia Catholic network, released its Catechism in the fall of 2022 in preparation for launching the popular podcast, The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz). The podcast hit #1 on the Apple Podcast charts in all categories at its January 2023 debut and has seen nearly 60 million combined downloads and views this year. The Catechism in a Year podcast is the second most popular Catholic podcast of all time, behind The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™, also produced by Ascension.
Ascension made additional headlines in June when its newly launched “Ascension App” became the #1 Bible App in the United States. The Ascension App is the only one in the United States that provides free access to the entire Catholic Catechism. With free and complete access to the Catholic Bible as well, the Ascension App offers innovative cross-linking features that help users quickly draw internal connections between the Catechism and the Bible.
A Beautiful Catechism with Over 400 5-Star Reviews
In bringing the new Foundations of Faith approach to the Catholic Catechism, Ascension sought to make the complex, 2,000-year-old Catholic Faith simple and understandable for believers. Customer reviews attest that this goal has been richly accomplished:
About the Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP)
Ascension is a member of the ACP. As shared on their website:
The Association of Catholic Publishers is a membership organization of Catholic publishers, those who provide services to Catholic publishers, and individuals who work with Catholic publishers. The ACP provides opportunities for members to further the Catholic publishing industry, promote Catholic publishing and reading, and engage those they interact with, including retailers, pastoral leaders, individual customers, and staff.
About Ascension
Ascension is a multimedia network and the leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. Over the past 25 years, Ascension has helped nurture the faith of more than 10 million Catholics through award-winning books, the chart-topping Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year podcasts, more than 50 unique faith formation programs, and Ascension Presents, which hosts the largest Catholic YouTube channel in English.
Media Contact
For author interviews or other media inquiries, please contact Lauren Joyce at (484) 876-1400 or Newsroom@AscensionPress.com.