CLARETIAN COMMUNICATIONS FOUNDATION, INC. is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. It aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of

the Church today.

Initiated in 1981, CCFI was originally called Claretian Publications, Inc. (CP). CP was renamed Claretian Communications, Inc. (CCI) in 1992. Then CCI became a Foundation in 2002. A member of the Claret Publishing Group and the Asian Catholic Communicators, Inc. (ACCI), CCFI is an established name in religious publishing, known for selling books at a price affordable to people as a response to the call of evangelization using what is most urgent, timely and effective.

CCFI Through the Years

In 1981, the Philippine Province of the Claretian Missionaries initiated a dialogue program between Latin America and the Philippines as a unique service to the local Church to provoke openness and establish a communication network between countries and continents, especially in the Third World. Fr. Alberto Rossa, CMF, an Argentine Claretian in the Philippines, was assigned to

coordinate the “dialogue project” on a “part-time basis.”

In this context, the idea of following up on the initial dialogue through publications came. Later, Fr. Alberto would publish his first book by Fr. Segundo Galilea, a Chilean liberation theologian, entitled The Beatitudes: To Evangelize as Jesus Did. He would then travel in a motorbike from the Claretian convent in UP Village, Diliman, to the St. Paul Printing Press in Makati to oversee the printing of other book projects.

Other factors would eventually encourage the establishment of a new publishing house in the Philippines: the publication of the El Nuevo Testamento in Chavacano (a Filipinized form of Spanish, which is the language in the mission area of the Congregation in Zamboanga City and Basilan); then the work of Brother Tony Daufi, CMF, who by 1980 had published some catechetical materials with the help of the USA Western Province; and finally, the contacts with the Claretians of the USA Eastern Province and their assistance to the Philippine Claretians through co-publications of books on religious life and initial financial aid.

Claretian Publications (CP) was formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines on July 25, 1983, with Fr. Alberto Rossa, CMF, as its first director. CP began with only a part-time director, a secretary, and an assistant. On June 3, 1992, CP was renamed Claretian Communications, Inc. (CCI); on September 10, 2002, it was officially known as Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI).

On October 24, 1984, Feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Fr. Alberto led the inauguration of the first printing press of the Claretians in the Philippines. His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin, then Archbishop of Manila, presided over the blessing of the facilities, together with the Mayor of Quezon City, Mrs. Adelina Rodriguez. In the 1990s, however, the printing press was sold for various reasons, from the 1997 Asian financial crisis affecting the Philippines to the difficulties in maintaining the machines.

In 1985, CCFI published the first-ever Bible Diary, the best-selling practical daily scripture reading and reflection guide. Considered the first of its kind, it has complete Gospel readings for weekday and Sunday Masses with commentaries and reflections. The Bible Diary is now published in 16 countries and 28 languages worldwide.

In 1999, the Daily Gospel was introduced as the pocket-size edition of the Bible Diary. To make the Word of God available to Filipino Catholics, CCFI introduced Pandesal (Filipino) in 2002 and Pan sa Kinabuhi (Cebuano) in 2006, both versions of the Daily Gospel in the vernaculars. In 2011, CCFI introduced PANg Araw Araw, the Bible Diary’s version in Filipino, and recently, the Daily Gospel Large Edition was made available to the public. Except for Pan Sa Kinabuhi, the seasonal books are all printed in Nanjing, China.

CCFI was also instrumental in assisting the Claretians in India and Sri Lanka to publish the Bible Diary in these countries. CCFI is helping the Claretians in Vietnam and Myanmar with the layout and design of their Bible Diaries. 

In 1988, CCFI, with its Executive Director, Fr. Alberto, made possible the translation of the Latin American Bible into English and published it under the Christian Community Bible, which is now in its sixty-fourth edition. This publication is the product of a collaboration between Fr. Alberto Rossa, CMF and Fr. Bernard Hurault, a French diocesan priest and missionary in Chile, who was the author of the Biblia Pastoral Latino Americana. This Bible edition was published in 1972 and has become a true best-seller with more than 160 million copies sold in hundreds of editions and translated into more than twelve languages. The English edition is known as the Christian Community Bible, and it was translated and published into Filipino (Biblia ng Sambayanang Pilipino), Cebuano (Biblia sa Kristohanong Katilingban), and Ilonggo (Bag-O Nga Kasugtanan).

Through Fr. Alberto’s leadership, CCFI gave birth in 1999 to the creation of the Pastoral Bible Foundation, Inc. (PBF), aiming to empower God’s people with the Word of God and to serve the community of believers to make them witness to the presence of

God’s Kingdom in the world. In 2006, PBF was made to focus on the work of the Bible, particularly with the mission work in China. Through PBF, CCFI distributes the Christian Community Bible (Catholic Pastoral Edition) in the Philippines and worldwide. There

are other editions of the Bible that CCFI distributes to encourage people to read and study the Word of God: The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), the Catholic Prayer Bible (Lectio Divina Edition), and the Catholic Study Bible.

Since 1999, CCFI has published the Catholic Directory of the Philippines in partnership with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. It is the only authoritative, most comprehensive, and up-to-date directory of Catholic clergy, religious men and

women, and institutions in the Philippines. The Catholic Directory comes out every two years. It is available in print and online.

Aside from the Bible and books on scriptures, CCFI also publishes Theological Books (All Categories of Theology), Religious Books (Religious Life, Spirituality, Meditation, Prayer, and Religion), and Pastoral-Missiological Books (Liturgy, Sacraments, Catechism,

Church History, Documents & Teachings, Counseling, Ministry, Missiology, Apologetics, Inspirational & General Interests). These wide variety of books are helpful as resources and references. They are valuable tools in the formation of seminarians and religious

and contribute to enriching the experiences of people in BECs. They are suitable pastoral materials for New Evangelization. 

Moreover, many of our local titles have received recognition from several awardgiving bodies, like the Cardinal Sin Catholic Book 

Awards, The Gintong Aklat Awards (BDAP), the Catholic Mass Media Awards and the National Book Awards. 

CCFI endeavors to provide readers with the most relevant books that can nourish the personal and communitarian needs of individuals, communities, and institutions. It offers foreign books from prestigious publishers in the United States, Canada, India,

and Denmark, like Liturgical Press, Orbis Books, Catholic Book Publishing, Liturgy Training Publications, Paulist Press, Novalis, Scandinavia Publishing House, Asia Trading Corporation, etc., to the local market.

CCFI also purchases the rights of foreign books to publish, making them readily available to Filipino readers. Some local titles published by CCFI were reprinted and translated abroad by foreign publishers, especially in Taiwan, the US, Vietnam, and the UK.

CCFI also publishes books about or written by Pope Francis. As part of its efforts to make the writings of the Holy Father closer to Filipino readers, CCFI has initiated the translation of his encyclicals, writings, and other works into Filipino and English. In celebration of the fifth centenary of the coming of Christianity to the Philippines, CCFI published “Ang Galak ng Ebanghelyo: Evangelii Gaudium at iba pang Mahahalagang Akda ni Papa Francisco na isinalin sa Wikang Filipino,” a collection of the writings of Pope Francis translated into Filipino.

The Claretian Communications Foundation Inc. (CCFI), in partnership with the Claretian Missionaries, Philippine Province (now Fr. Rhoel Gallardo Province) under its Prefecture of Biblical Animation and Communications, has initiated in 2018 the Word Conference (WORDCON). This is in response to the Claretian Missionaries' charism of proclaiming the Word in modern times as missionary servants of the Word. Now in its seventh year, WORDCON continues to invite participants to reflect on the Word of God daily in their lives, as the slightest encounter with the Word is enough to change people's lives—to touch their lives. Four speakers and reactors/ sharers are invited to the conference to reflect, deepen, and nurture the participants' encounter with the Word.

In May 2024, CCFI initiated another conference, this time on the Blessed Virgin Mary, in partnership with the Prefecture of Spirituality of the Fr. Rhoel Gallardo Province. Mary is a central figure in the Catholic faith and plays a significant role in the life and mission of the Church. The 1st Conference on Mary (CONMARIA) highlights the multifaceted roles of Mary in our faith and life as followers of Jesus. The Claretian Missionaries, through the inspiration of its founder, St. Anthony Mary Claret, and the tradition of the Congregation, understood this role of the Blessed Virgin Mary – as mother, foundress, formatrix, and protectress. These characteristics of Mary are contained in her Heart, her Immaculate Heart, which best expresses the Claretian's Cordimarian Spirituality. These events were attended by priests, religious, seminarians, and lay people.

CCFI has also initiated an annual gathering of authors, writers, contributors, and collaborators in the publishing ministry for ten consecutive years. This gathering is CCFI’s sincerest way of sending messages of hope, inspiration, and solidarity, and thanks to all the collaborators’ valuable contributions to this ministry of spreading the Word of God.

As part of the strengthening program of CCFI, the FilCatholic Magazine Website http://www.filcatholic.org was launched in early 2015. The site provides news and interesting articles about the Church and our faith. CCFI hopes to offer more creativity through this website in making God’s Word accessible to all.

Today, CCFI is a member of the Claretian Publishing Group, a consortium of all the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries and the Asian Catholic Communicators, Inc., an association of Catholic Religious Publishers in the Philippines. CCFI has a reputable name in religious publishing with quality printing and content. Our books are available nationwide in partner outlets, schools, bookstore chains, and online stores (CCFI Website, Lazada, Shopee, and Tiktok). CCFI continues to respond to the call of evangelization using what is most urgent, timely, and effective.