Catholic Owned, Adobe Stock
CV NEWS FEED // Catholic Owned, a platform a husband and wife duo launched last year, is in the business of promoting Catholic businesses.
“We knew we wanted a way to support businesses being run by Catholics but struggled to identify them,” said co-founder Brooke Joiner in a recent press release.
Joiner and her husband, Matteo Onori, designed the company to alleviate this struggle.
“Catholic Owned was born from a desire to support faith-aligned businesses and the families behind them with all of our purchases,” Joiner explained.
The company has a goal to cultivate and grow what its co-founders are calling the “New Catholic Economy.” This term “refers to the wealth of resources Catholics hold, and the collective decision to use them for the advancement of our values, our families and our Church, for the greater glory of God,” Joiner told CatholicVote in an email statement.
This year, the company is happy to announce its second annual Christmastide Shopping Guide, which features a list of 37 Catholic-owned businesses, according to the press release. The Guide, which will feature exclusive discounts and bonuses from every listed business, will be out on November 4. The digital magazine will also feature a liturgical living section, which Joiner hopes will help people cultivate deeper relationships with the Holy Family during Advent and Christmastide.
Catholic Owned also has an app that highlights a larger number of Catholic businesses, including therapists, doctors, and realtors. Additionally, the app has local Mass times, daily readings, and a prayer community, according to the press release.
“Catholic Owned is all about bringing devout Catholics together — from Christmas shopping to buying for the day-to-day needs of a family,” Joiner said. “Our Catholic faith is central to every aspect of our lives, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t play a significant role in our purchasing decisions, too.”
Every listed company has undergone a vetting process. In a statement emailed to CatholicVote, Joiner explained that the vetting is accomplished through four key pillars because it is not sufficient for businesses to be “Catholic-in-name-only.”
The owners of the listed businesses must meet the following criteria, which Joiner said were “discerned … in a spirit of obedience to the Church and her shepherds.”
The business owners must be Catholics who regularly pray devotionals such as the Rosary, are in full communion with the Church, and follow the Magisterium. Finally, they must operate their companies “in accordance with the principles of the Catholic faith,” Joiner explained.
“This common foundation builds trust, and it means users start finding businesses to work with or patronize right away; plus, they keep coming back to find more,” Joiner said. “That contributes to the growth and sustainability of the businesses in our directory.”
