William H. Sadlier, Inc.

History

It began in 1832 when brothers Denis and James Sadlier emigrated from Cashel, County Tipperary to New York City and began to publish materials to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the Catholic community. Under the name D&J Sadlier, they published an American edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints, an American Catholic Bible, and other devotional works, and eventually a weekly Catholic newspaper, The Tablet. Writing as Mrs. J. Sadlier, Mary Anne Sadlier, wife of James Sadlier, translated many religious books from their original French and wrote over sixty inspirational novels. In 1895, she received the Laetare Medal from the University of Notre Dame and a special blessing from Pope Leo XIII for her services to the Catholic Church and her impact on Catholic publishing.

A nephew, William H. Sadlier, joined his uncles, in 1874 branching out to start his own publishing firm which still carries his name. Before he died at age 31, William asked his wife Annie to keep the family business. The 26-year-old widow with three small children raised a family while running a publishing company in an exclusively man's world. In 1907 Annie's son, Frank X. Sadlier, began to lead the firm and introduced new programs in history and geography, as well as groundbreaking publications in catechesis. In 1927, F. Sadlier Dinger, son of William H. and Annie Sadlier, joined the company, working alongside his uncle, Frank. In the 1930s, F. Sadlier Dinger proposed that traditional questions and answers of the Baltimore Catechism be accompanied by exercises, explanatory material, and tests. Written by Dr. Ellamay Horan, a leading figure in religious education, Sadlier's Baltimore Catechism with Study Lessons was an immediate success. During this time, Sadlier begins to publish new history texts with full color art, a series of poetry books for elementary grades and a series of spelling books developed for the New York City public schools. Sadlier's footprint in the world of academic publishing grows even further in 1943 with the publication of its Progress in Arithmetic series.

Anticipating many of the emphases of Vatican Council II, in the late 1950s Sadlier pioneered the kerygmatic approach to catechetics, drawing upon the fourfold revelation of Christ through scripture, liturgy, doctrine, and Christian witness. This resulting series, called On Our Way, was developed by Sister Maria de la Cruz with the advice of Reverend Johannes Hofinger, S.J. and achieved national and international acclaim.

Under F. Sadlier Dinger the firm enjoyed phenomenal growth in the publication of both catechetical and academic programs. The purchase of the Oxford Book Company in 1972 opened new and expanded opportunities in the academic subjects Sadlier was already producing – social studies, language arts, and mathematics. In 1973, Sadlier published its first bilingual Spanish-English textbook, Jesus Nos Dice.

Sadlier today

Today Sadlier comprises two imprints: Sadlier-Oxford, which publishes academic basal and supplemental programs for preK-12, and Sadlier, which publishes catechetical programs from preK-adult.

Sadlier is owned and led by brothers from the same family: Frank Sadlier Dinger, who serves as Chairman of the Board, and William Sadlier Dinger, who serves as President. Both men are University of Notre Dame graduates. Children of each brother are continuing the family tradition at Sadlier. Angela Dinger serves as General Counsel for the company, Melissa Gibbons is Director of Research and Planning, and William Sadlier Dinger, Jr. serves as National Account Manager and was recently promoted to Group VP.

One of Sadlier's most popular educational course is Vocabulary Workshop. There are a number of related sites offering help with questions and answers.

Popular titles and series

F. Sadlier Dinger Award

In 1980, Sadlier first awarded the F. Sadlier Dinger Award in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the ministry of religious education in America. The award is granted annually at the National Catholic Education Association and National Conference for Catechetical Leadership conferences. Past recipients of the award include: