History and Mission
Sophia Institute is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that nurtures the spiritual, moral, and cultural life of souls and spreads the Gospel of Christ in conformity with the authentic teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Sophia Institute operates several apostolates which include the following:
Sophia Institute Press
Sophia Institute Press publishes and distributes faithful Catholic classics and new texts by the great enduring figures of the Catholic intellectual tradition. In 30 years, we have published 300 titles and distributed 3 million books worldwide to hundreds of thousands of individuals, bookstores, and institutions. Sophia’s authors include St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Therese of Lisieux, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Dietrich von Hildebrand, and many others.
Sophia Institute for Teachers
Sophia Institute for Teachers was launched in 2013 to provide Catholic school teachers with the background knowledge, teaching strategies, and classroom materials they need to engage their students with the Catholic Faith. We fulfill this mission through in-person training programs hosted throughout the country, classroom-ready lesson plans, an online Catholic Curriculum Exchange, and more. You can learn more about Sophia Institute for Teachers at www.SophiaInstituteforTeachers.org.
Sophia Sketchpad
Sophia SketchPad was launched in 2014 as part of Sophia Institute for Teachers. These videos use some of the most innovative tools to explain the Catholic Faith. Hundreds of thousands have viewed these videos. You can watch them at www.SophiaSketchPad.org.
Sophia OnDemand
Sophia On-Demand offers online courses designed by and for K-12 Catholic educators. They combine university-level learning with practical classroom applications for only $49.99. For only $9.99 we offer short, topic-specific webinars that are packed with practical lesson ideas, guidance from Master teachers, and classroom materials that can be used right away. You can view our growing list of courses at www.SophiaInstituteforTeachers.org/OnDemand.
Catholic Exchange
Catholic Exchange publishes a series of accessible articles and helpful tools for spiritual growth each day that enriches and strengthens hundreds of thousands of Catholics in the Faith. We seek to make saints in our own time, especially among those who live busy lives but still seek to grow in friendship with Christ. Visit at CatholicExchange.com.
EpicPew.com
EpicPew publishes articles each day that engages the lighter side of the Catholic Faith. With humor and fun, the reviews, quizzes, and videos we publish are meant to give your spiritual life a lift while bringing a smile to your face. Visit at EpicPew.com.
Family of Faith
A Family of Faith is a parish-based catechetical program that helps to develop strong Catholic families in which children learn the joys of following Jesus Christ and the truths of our Faith through the witness of Christian life given by their parents. A Family of Faith provides a structured way to catechize the entire family. Learn more at www.SophiaInstitute.com/FamilyofFaith.
Sophia Institute is a non-profit corporation as defined by the IRS Code, Sect. 501(c)(3). Tax I.D. 22-2548708.
The Meaning of “Sophia”…
Catholics understand philosophy (philo: love; and sophia: wisdom) to be the love of wisdom — wisdom which reaches back, as did St. Thomas Aquinas, to the Greeks (Plato and Aristotle) and rises up through theology to the holy wisdom (or hagia sophia) of God Himself.
In the Old Testament, too, we find the holy wisdom of God, often personified as a great queen who teaches and protects the faithful. (See Proverbs, Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon.)
The Virgin Mary has also traditionally been considered a model of holy wisdom grounded in fear of the Lord. This Catholic tradition culminated architecturally in what was for centuries the largest church in Christendom, the formidable Hagia Sophia (the Church of the Holy Wisdom) that still dominates the dramatic skyline of Istanbul.
The name “Sophia” is therefore triply apt for our Press which seeks to publish works of holy wisdom that are faithful to the tradition of the Church.