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Family revives vintage devotional books
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January 18, 2024Brad Fossier loves reading old, out-of-print devotionals because “there are a lot of gems out there.
“Most of these books were old, torn up copies or old files I found online,” said Fossier. “Most of them were falling apart or difficult to read off a computer screen.”
The books, mostly written before the 1900s, were also on the verge of extinction. So Fossier and his wife, Emily, set out to save some for their own spiritual reading. After all, finding value in vintage things was nothing new for the couple; in 2019 they’d purchased an antebellum home in St. Francisville and have been working to renovate and restore it ever since.
Likewise, they began reformatting, updating, and binding a few of their favorite of these rediscovered devotionals, even designing attractive new cover artwork in the process. They printed a few copies, and the response from friends at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church encouraged them to establish a small family-run publishing company.
Top right photo): Pictured “filling orders” are, from left, Augustine, Willa, and Eulalie. Photos provided by Brad Fossier
(Above photo): Pictured at their family farm in St. Francisville are the Fossier family, from left, front row, Eulalie and Willa; and back row, Pier, Brad (holding Augustine) and Emily (holding Clementine). Photos provided by Brad Fossier
“We picked the name Cor Jesu (Press), which means ‘Heart of Jesus’ in Latin, because we hope that the spiritual reading contained in the books we publish will help Catholics be on fire with love for Our Blessed Lord just as his Sacred Heart is on fire with love for us,” Fossier explained.
The small press clearly fills a niche in the Catholic market. Within one hour of their open house on Jan. 2, the Fossiers sold out of inventory.
Now, “people have given us a running list of book titles they would like to see,” he said.
Cor Jesu Press (corjesupress.com) produces books which are practical, short, faithful to the Catholic faith, attractive, and “feel good in the hands,” he adds. Its booklist includes, among other spiritual topics, works on Mary, the lives of the saints, advice for Christian mothers, and the practice of virtues.
When they aren’t publishing books, Brad works as a family physician in St. Francisville and Emily homeschools their five children: Pier, 8; Eulalie, 6; Willa, 4; Augustine 3; and Clementine, 1. Emily also manages and creates content about Catholic motherhood and the faith for Apostolate of Holy Motherhood, found on Instagram and YouTube.
