Cathedral Corp. of Rome acquires Connecticut firm that also serves Catholic churches

ROME, N.Y. — Cathedral Corporation of Rome — which for more than 100 years has provided Catholic churches and dioceses with printing, communications, and support services — recently announced it has acquired Letter Concepts Inc. (LCI) of Connecticut to strengthen its presence in the church market.

LCI is a Kensington, Connecticut–based firm that specializes in Catholic church fundraising, offering laser and inkjet printing and mailing services, as well as database management and lockbox services to churches and dioceses.

Cathedral, headquartered at 632 Ellsworth Road, says it offers marketing, fundraising, and financial communications for Catholic churches, dioceses, colleges and universities, governmental and nonprofit organizations, health-care providers, credit unions, and banks.

“Letter Concepts, like Cathedral Corporation, is a family-owned business where employees remain for decades. Our companies are similar, but have particular strengths,” Marianne Gaige, chairman and CEO of Cathedral, said in a release. “We have been working with churches since the early 1900s, while Letter Concepts has been supporting dioceses with essential services and building long-term partnerships across the country.” 

No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Letter Concepts brings Cathedral “significant strengths in print production management, lockbox operations and data management and analysis,” per Gaige. “With its industry leadership in diocesan fundraising, the addition … strengthens Cathedral’s position in the field of church stewardship.”

Thomas Wilson, executive VP and general manager of Letter Concepts, noted that Letter Concepts develops close relationships with its diocesan clients through the programming, lockbox capability, data exports, and appeal-reporting updates. “We’re part of their team,” he said.

Wilson sees opportunities for growth as a part of the Cathedral team. “We’re bringing new strengths — personalized brochures, surveys, social media — and are delighted to provide these capabilities to our clients. I believe the new company will be the leader in the church market.”

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathedral Corp., LCI will function with a “high degree of autonomy,” the release stated. All leadership and staff are remaining in their current positions, with Thomas Wilson continuing in his current role and Al Davis serving as VP/operations manager. Meanwhile, LCI co-founder John Wilson will be in a consultant role. The LCI leadership will become an active part of Cathedral’s senior management team.

Cathedral Corp. employs more than 220 people and is headquartered in a 60,000-square-foot facility at Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome. It has additional facilities in Holbrook, New York; Lincoln, Rhode Island; Orlando, Florida; and now Kensington, Connecticut. 

Letter Concepts has served 48 Catholic dioceses and more than 3,500 Catholic parishes nationwide in the past 32 years, producing more than 17 million request-letter packages and 3.5 million acknowledgment mailings to respondents last year, alone.