Dave, Brenda, Mary and Sunny.

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Books and Gifts opened on Sept. 2, 1997 in a small storefront on the Main St. of Beaver Falls, PA. It was then and is now the only exclusively Catholic bookstore in Beaver County, which is home to 13 Catholic parishes.

Local residents have always had to make the 35-mile trip to Pittsburgh to get religious supplies or order from catalogs. When I became aware of this situation, I thought that it would be a good idea to set up a store that was more convenient to the area residents and perhaps get more good reading material and devotional items into the hands of people and in that way build up their Catholic faith.

With the recent explosion of excellent Catholic apologetic material, an under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of our present Holy Father Benedict XVI, the Church is poised at the threshold of an exciting evangelistic moment. The recent proliferation of small independent bookstores like ours is part of how this great work will be accomplished as we are "taking it to the streets".

St. Francis de Sales is a family enterprise. We want to give care and special attention to every customer we serve. We are not simply selling religious goods. It is our hope that God is using us in this larger effort to bring people to Himself.

My son Benjamin has been the inspiration behind "taking it to the web". He has provided the vision, the knowledge, the technical expertise, the long hours, and even the artwork. We thank him for the effort. My wife Brenda is the one who takes care of all the bookkeeping, inventory, and billing details. She is a computer whiz. Without her I'd still be writing things in pencil on scraps of paper. Mary Sonnet works with us part time and takes care of everything. If you call in the morning, it is her voice you will hear. Sunny is our dog. She greets every customer with unconditional love, is the delight of children, and accepts all donations of food or dog treats graciously.

Take time to join the email family, learn about the saints, browse the catalog, and grow in the Catholic Faith that is God's gift to you.

In His Service,

Dave Lichius