Diplomatic Corps - Tracy Moran

An Apostle to the Marketplace
Alan Napleton is making the Lord's business his business.

They weren't gathered in an upper room — it was a first-floor conference center. There were no tongues of fire, though there were some heated discussions. But the 54 Catholic retailers, publishers and other marketers who met at a Chicago hotel one weekend in October 1995 forged an exciting, new Catholic apostolate that has grown rapidly, and its president, Alan Napleton, knows why. "We believe this apostolate is a concrete response to the graces poured out by the Holy Spirit, and it has the protection and assistance of the Blessed Mother," Napleton explains.

The apostolate he's referring to is the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), a fledgling nonprofit organization that links producers and retailers of Catholic goods and services through trade shows, a quarterly trade journal, and a web site (www.catholicmarketing.com). The CMN was formed to achieve a single purpose: to be an effective force for Catholicism in the marketplace; a means to enhance and strengthen the efforts of Catholic publishers and retailers to spread good Catholic materials to the public. Although the CMN focuses its attention on building a robust Catholic retail presence in the United States, it's strictly a nonprofit entity, does not engage in any selling of product, and has no commercial interest in any of the Catholic companies it works with.

With a small, dedicated staff, and the assistance of an 11-member board of directors, Napleton has blazed an impressive trail into the wilderness of the Catholic marketplace. His vision for how the Catholic Marketing Network can widen and deepen that trail, eventually transforming it into a Catholic superhighway of resources, is equally impressive. Under Napleton's dynamic leadership, the CMN's future looks bright. More trade shows are being planned, the CMN Web site is expanding steadily, new Catholic retailers are joining, and the myriad of available great Catholic books, tapes, videos and other products are becoming better known and more available to Catholic retailers and their customers.

"Though we're involved in commerce," Napleton says, "if we can get these products into the hands of the Catholic consumers, they will build up the Body of Christ. The Catholic Marketing Network is an apostolate first; the commercial aspect is secondary. It just happens to be involved in things that are part of the business world, such as trade shows and journals."

Napleton's deep personal devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe has helped him weather the storms and challenges that accompany the launch of any new apostolate. "There are days when guiding the CMN ship can be frustrating and even, at times, demoralizing," he admits. "But I know that because we have placed the work of this apostolate under the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, she will help us move forward, especially when things are difficult."

When he conceived the idea for the Catholic Marketing Network, the 48-year-old Napleton envisioned someone else leading the group, someone, he says, "more well-known, with more experience." But the "Chicago 54" were impressed with his leadership at CCC of America and his previous experience in corporate real estate management and finance. At the initial meeting, they elected him president of the CMN. They also hammered out the organization's bylaws that first weekend, reaching consensus only after much debate and prayer. "I think the Good Lord had His plan for this," Napleton says, explaining that at the same time he was helping launch the network, he adopted his son, John Paul. "Once the adoption happened, it triggered this," Napleton says. "The adoption of John Paul is what got me to step forward. I lost my fear of failure."

Napleton has found great joy in fatherhood. "It's added a dimension to my life that wasn't there," he says. "It expands your concepts of love. It has made me understand a little more the love God has for us." He also derives satisfaction from the Catholic Marketing Network's success.

From the original group that met three years ago, the network has grown to include some 600 Catholic retailers, suppliers and producers providing materials such as books, music, videos and statuary. This past spring, more than 2,500 attended the trade show, which featured 250 exhibitors. Napleton is also the president of CCC of America, best known for its animated children's videos of Our Lady and the saints. In speaking with those who create and distribute the tools of the Faith, Napleton realized that many Catholic retailers often struggled alone, with no practical way to interact with other retailers and with those who produce books, tapes and videos. A skilled marketer, he knew networking would be invaluable to their business success and in the process, this networking would strengthen the Church by making it easier for Catholics in the pew to have access to solid, faith-building materials. And with Napleton at the helm, CCC of America is expanding its operations. They recently published a book by Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum's wife, Karen. Entitled Letters to Gabriel, the book is a series of letters she wrote to her unborn baby, who was discovered to have a birth defect and lived only two hours after birth. Ironically, during her pregnancy, her husband was leading the fight in Congress against partial-birth abortion. "We're very pro-life," Napleton says of CCC of America, "so the book was a natural for us."

Napleton is eager to help spread the Catholic Faith, but there was a period in his life when the cradle Catholic, raised in the small town of Butler, Pennsylvania, fell away from the Church. "After college, I got my wish to live in different parts of the country," Napleton explains. During this time, he quit attending Mass. He did well in the business world, making more and more money. But one day, as he walked through a building he managed, he saw a book on a desk that stopped him short. That book, about Fatima, took him back 30 years, to the first time he'd heard about Our Lady's appearance to the three children. "I had been given the grace to know that the miracle of Fatima was true," he says. He credits Our Lady of Fatima with bringing him back to the Faith at age 35. "I realized I was a child of God and I needed to be working to expand the Kingdom of Christ," he says. So Napleton quit his job and spent two years doing volunteer work with pro-life organizations and Catholic Charities.

Then he met the CEO of CCC of America, who brought him on board, eventually promoting Napleton to president. "We all have our own spiritual walk," he says, reflecting on his return to the Catholic Church and the work that keeps him so busy today. "There is much to do, and we have been given the grace to understand the truth."

Napleton is optimistic about the apostolate's future. When asked what Envoy readers could do to assist, he smiled, "First, and most importantly, please pray for our work — a rosary now and then would be great. Second, patronize your local Catholic retailer as often as possible. Go out of your way to shop at Catholic bookstores. This will not only help these Catholic stores survive and grow, but it will also build up the Body of Christ."



Contact the Catholic Marketing Network at 6000 Campus Circle Drive, #110, Irving, TX 75063, 800-506-6333, e-mail: Anapleton@aol.com. A catalogue of CCC of America's videos can be obtained by calling 800-935-2222.