David Whitworth has a dream.
David is the founder of Catholic Door, an online Catholic store, which he has been running for almost a year with the help of his wife and kids. David envisions Catholic Door as a for-profit ministry and a tool for evangelization. He sells a variety of books that are faithful to Catholic teaching, and Catholic merchandise with an emphasis on artisan-made pieces from predominantly Catholic countries. Once his company turns a profit, he plans to make regular donations to charities.
This is a start-up, but eventually David hopes to create jobs for those who are difficult to employ, like the homeless or recently imprisoned. He wants to build a work environment with a strong Catholic culture including opportunities for attending Mass together and living out faith in the workplace. And eventually he plans to take over the Catholic books market from Amazon!
As a member of CSMI (Catholic Social Media Influencers) I was given the opportunity to shop at Catholic Door for $70 worth of products–whatever I wanted! I chose the products below.
The first one will be William’s Christmas Eve book. I am SO excited about this book, which I know he is going to love, and I am grateful to Catholic Door for showcasing products like these. At the moment their selection is small; but that was actually a plus because had I been looking on Amazon I might never have picked out this gem from the thousands of choices.
The second item is a notebook, which I will be using for prayer journaling. I only recently learned that quotation from Joan of Arc, and had wished to have something with those words on it!
Finally, the last is a marriage cross. When my husband and I were married, we received a marriage cross from a priest who once served at our parish. It hung above our bed until it was lost in our fire. When I saw this on Catholic Door I knew immediately that I would buy it.
I promised to give my honest opinion of Catholic Door and its products in exchange for these items. I’ll start by saying that I love all the items I chose. My only slightly negative observation about Catholic Door is that the selection, while high in quality, is somewhat limited in quantity in some of the listed categories. But I’m sure that’s something that the company will improve upon, as this is only their first year.
Now let’s talk about what Catholic Door has going for it. In addition to the quality of the products that they currently stock, and their wonderful mission, they have an EXCELLENT website. It may be the best shopping site I’ve ever used and I really mean that. It couldn’t have been easier to navigate through or to purchase from. It was a truly stellar experience to shop there.
Customer service was also top-notch. My items were shipped out almost immediately. I received prompt notice of shipping and tracking information. (Did I mention all shipping is FREE at Catholic Door?) I had a question about my shipment and it was answered via email within a couple of hours after I inquired.
David believes he and his family have been called by God to pursue this ministry. If he is right about that, then they can’t help but succeed. With a well-defined mission, a phenomenal website, interesting products, and great customer service, Catholic Door is well on its way to fulfilling its founder’s dream.
