Pope's Encyclical Launches Publisher's Expansion in Electronic and Audio Books

SAN FRANCISCO, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Ignatius Press, the primary
English-language publisher of the works of Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph
Ratzinger), is now publishing its titles in three formats - print, electronic,
and audio - beginning with today's release of Pope Benedict's new encyclical,
Charity in Truth, on the world economy.

"As we release Charity in Truth - obviously a very important document, given
the far-reaching economic crisis - we want it to be as widely accessible as
possible," said Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, Editor and Founder of Ignatius
Press, and former student of Joseph Ratzinger.

Releasing the encyclical in three formats is part of Ignatius Press' expansion
of its work into electronic and audio publishing.

"It's important that people have as many options as possible to read or hear
it. Because we believe the other writings we publish are also important, we
want to make them available in all three formats, too. So it makes sense that
we would launch the new program with the publication of Benedict's new
encyclical and rapidly expand the program as we can," Father Fessio noted.

Ignatius Press remains committed to the traditional print book--its
publications use high-quality paper and first-rate bindings, as well as
beautiful covers. Nevertheless, as preferences of book readers diversify, the
San Francisco-based publisher is diversifying its offerings to include
electronic and audio editions. As new books are published, Ignatius Press
plans to make them available in the three major formats.

Along with the publication of Benedict XVI's Charity in Truth, Ignatius Press
is adding to its print editions electronic and audio versions of the Pope's
previous encyclicals, God is Love and Saved in Hope. Already the publisher
has over two dozen electronic and audio books available in Kindle and other
formats. The plan is to add weekly to its offerings as its extensive backlist
is converted.

"We want to make sure that as many people as possible can obtain our books,"
according to Father Fessio. "These additional formats help us to widen our
audience."

For more information on Ignatius Press' electronic and audio editions of Pope
Benedict's Love in Truth and other works, go to www.popebenedictxvibooks.com
or www.ignatius.com.

San Francisco-based Ignatius Press, founded in 1978, is one of the largest
Catholic publishers in the world. Ignatius Press is the primary
English-language publisher of Pope Benedict XVI. Dedicated to publishing and
distributing information on the Catholic faith, Ignatius Press publishes over
40 books each year (with over 1,800 titles in print), and produces and
licenses many fine films for distribution in North America. . Its
author-roster includes some of the foremost names in the Catholic Church.
Ignatius Press is also the publisher of Catholic World Report and Homiletic &
Pastoral Review magazines. http://www.ignatius.com/

SOURCE Ignatius Press

Christine Valentine-Owsik of Valentine Communications for Ignatius Press,
+1-215-230-8095, valencom@aol.com