The Catholic Herald enters partnership with Longbeard Creative to secure historic archives
The Catholic Herald• May 4, 2025
The Catholic Herald has announced a landmark partnership with Longbeard Creative Inc., creators of the Vulgate AI platform, to develop its 137-year archive of faith-based content into a fully searchable, AI-powered database – unlocking new premium offerings for subscribers and opening the door to global licensing, multimedia content partnerships and academic collaborations.
Under the agreement, The Catholic Herald will retain full ownership of its archive, while Longbeard’s Vulgate platform will structure and index the entire collection, allowing readers and researchers to explore more than a century of Catholic journalism with unprecedented ease and depth.
The archive includes contributions from writers such as GK Chesterton and JRR Tolkien, along with coverage of major world events, papal transitions and cultural commentary spanning the late 19th-century through the post-Vatican II era and into the modern day.
“The Catholic Herald’s archive is one of the great cultural and intellectual resources in religious publishing,” said Matthew Harvey Sanders, CEO of Longbeard. “With Vulgate, we’re ensuring its legacy not only endures but expands – brought to life for a new generation through intelligent, purpose-driven technology.”
This is the latest in a series of strategic business expansions and digital initiatives since The Catholic Herald was acquired by GEM Global Yield LLC SCS, which took a majority stake in 2022 and increased its ownership to 90 per cent in 2024.
“This archive is one of the most treasured parts of The Catholic Herald’s legacy,” said Mark Ackermann, CEO of The Catholic Herald Institute. “Partnering with a mission-aligned innovator like Longbeard allows us to unlock that legacy in new formats and for the digital audience as we grow internationally”.
The announcement comes as interest in values-driven media continues to rise, and follows The Catholic Herald’s recent launch of a crowdfunding campaign aimed at expanding its digital reach and engaging a new generation of readers.
Photo: Collage of famous historical Catholic figures (from top left): Dorothy Day, Fr Thomas Byles, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Antoni Gaudí and GK Chesterton.