SEATTLE – After 118 years of serving Catholic parishes and families, through four generations of family ownership, Kaufer’s Religious Supplies is moving into a new era.

On Aug. 15, Kaufer’s became a division of Catholic Supply of St. Louis, a 62-year-old family-owned company in Missouri with similar core values and reputation, said Jim Sinclair, Kaufer’s president.

“Together, we have a clear vision of continuing the Kaufer’s ministry of service to the church, through our stores in Seattle, Spokane and now St. Louis,” Sinclair and other family members said in a June letter to customers.

“We’re excited for this new chapter in our company’s long, rich history,” the letter said, noting that history has extended through two World Wars, the Great Depression, Vatican II, Covid-19 “and all the other challenges small family businesses are confronted with daily.”

In a recent interview, Sinclair said he anticipates the transition to be seamless. The companies have collaborated on the annual catalog and special projects since 2014, and Catholic Supply has “great ideas,” “lots of energy,” and a “great track record and history,” he said.

For customers, the change means the same great service, but with deeper inventory, faster delivery, a more robust website and broader selection, Sinclair said. Catholic Supply will run the back-end support so that the Kaufer’s staff can better focus on their customers, according to the June letter.

In an email, Lara Traina of Catholic Supply said, “All the parishes will still have a familiar person reaching out to them — especially someone who knows their needs and what they use.”

Sinclair said customers will continue to connect with him by phone and email — he plans to stay on for a while and “get back to helping people. I find there’s a lot of satisfaction in helping people,” he said.

Patrons can find just about anything inside a Kaufer’s Religious Supplies store, in the catalog or online. The company was acquired by Catholic Supply of St. Louis Aug. 15 but the stores in Seattle and Spokane will remain open. (Courtesy Kaufer’s)

Serving a future saint

Philip A. Kaufer opened his first store in 1904 in Tacoma and quickly built a relationship with churches in the area, according to a history on Kaufer’s website. A year later, the first catalog debuted and a second store was opened in Seattle.

“As churches opened, we took care of them,” Sinclair said. “Every Catholic parish had a credit account at the store,” he added, noting that St. Anthony Parish in Renton has had an account since 1905. Recently, a customer stopped by with an invoice for a long list of liturgical supplies dated Sept. 19, 1939.

Sinclair recalls family stories about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (then Mother Cabrini, who founded an orphanage and hospital in Seattle), “a devoted Kaufer’s customer,” bursting through the store doors with an aide and a store clerk keeping pace, jotting down items and quantities.

At its height, Kaufer’s also had stores in San Francisco, Portland and Vancouver, Canada. In recent years, the Seattle store was owned by Sinclair and siblings Mark Sinclair and Michele Sinclair Butcher. Another brother, Ed Sinclair, owned the Spokane store. Now ownership has passed to Catholic Supply.

Rosaries and Bibles

Of the thousands of items in Kaufer’s catalog and its retail stores, it’s the rosaries that hold a special place for Jim Sinclair.

“We prayed the rosary every night,” Sinclair said. “I’ve collected quite a few over the years. The memory of saying it with my nine brothers and sisters and parents is pretty strong.”

Rosaries remain popular among Kaufer’s customers, although Bibles are the No. 1 seller — and not just among Catholics; Kaufer’s also sells Christian denomination products, Sinclair said.

Other popular items are missals, saint medals and home décor. Parishes continue to order merchandise like candles, hosts, palms and other liturgical items. “I love helping priests with vestments,” Sinclair said.

Kaufer’s has been around for more than a century “by the grace of God, and thanks to generations of loyal Kaufer’s customers,” the family said in their letter. Under new ownership, they hope to “ensure that we will be here for many more years to come.”