A national Catholic evangelization group said it has distributed more than 30,000 copies of a specially produced Gospels edition to college students on more than 100 campuses across the United States and one in Canada as part of a campaign to strengthen young people’s engagement with scripture.
Word on Fire, founded by Bishop Robert Barron, said the campaign targets students at a formative age when the organization and others say many former Catholics stop practicing their faith. The group cites a figure on its website that 79 percent of former Catholics leave the faith before age 23 and said the college years are a critical moment to reach them.
Brandon Vogt, senior publishing director for Word on Fire, said the Bible campaign is intended to “meet them in that critical moment” and to put a readable, attractive edition of the Gospels into students’ hands. "With these Word on Fire editions of the Bible, which is not just the biblical text, it's this work of art, and we call it a ‘cathedral in print’ because it's surrounded with artwork and quotes from saints and church fathers and mystics and scholars," Vogt said.
The edition includes artwork and explanatory material designed, the group said, to make the scriptures more accessible to students encountering the Bible for the first time. Word on Fire said it partners with Catholic campus ministries at secular colleges to distribute the books and that recipients frequently report reading the Bible for the first time or saying the edition is the most beautiful Bible they have seen.
Word on Fire said its campaign has produced “countless testimonies” of students who began reading scripture for the first time and some who returned to the Catholic Church or became Catholic after receiving the book. Vogt said the initiative complements other materials from the organization, including videos, books and online resources.
The group said schools whose Catholic campus ministry centers have participated include Harvard University, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Southeastern Louisiana University and Southern Methodist University.
Financially, Word on Fire said it had raised more than $184,000 toward a stated campaign goal of $250,000. The organization described the effort as ongoing and said it plans to continue distributing the Gospels edition to additional campuses through partnerships with local campus ministries.
Vogt characterized the effort as part of a broader push to encourage scripture reading among Catholics. "I think Catholics can do a whole lot better reading the Bible. And that's not a fault of the church," he said, adding that the church has long emphasized knowledge of scripture but that novel, approachable formats can help reach new generations.
Word on Fire said it distributes the books largely through campus ministry centers at secular and religiously affiliated schools and records anecdotal evidence of impact from student recipients. The group did not provide a detailed breakdown of distribution by campus or a timeline for when the 30,000 copies were handed out. It also did not disclose whether the campaign includes digital distribution or only print editions.
The campaign underscores an ongoing effort by religious organizations to address declines in affiliation and practice among younger Americans by emphasizing scripture, personal engagement and campus-based ministry outreach.