Ascension Press has released an FAQ page with basic information and pricing for their upcoming editions of the Catholic American Bible (CAB), planned for publication on Ash Wednesday (February 10th) of 2027. There will be several options, ranging from a simple paperback to premium natural grain leather:
- Paperback: $19.99
- Leatherlike: Standard Print in black, brown, green, and white or Large Print in black and brown, beginning at $39.99
- Standard Leather: Standard Print and Large Print in red, beginning at $59.99
- Premium Leather: Standard Print and Large Print in black, beginning at $119.99
- Premium Natural Grain Leather: Standard Print and Large Print in black, beginning at $189.99
All editions will feature typsetting by 2K/Denmark and newly-created line art inspired by the olive tree. An edition of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible using the CAB translation is also planned, but it is not clear from the FAQ whether it will be published at the same time as the other editions above or at a later date.
A few other details caught my attention in the FAQ:
- The updated four-volume lectionary using the CAB translation is scheduled for a vote by the USCCB in November of 2026 (next month).
- The footnotes in the CAB will primarily focus on understanding the canonical text without delving into areas of scholarly debate, unless the scholarly debate is relevant for understanding the text as it currently stands. I suspect this means that a lot of the NT notes from the 1986 NAB New Testament speculating on which parts of the gospel traditions can be ascribed to the Q source (as one example) are unlikely to be carried over into the CAB.
Great news about the notes. I wonder if this will lead to greater adoption.
I do wonder about the sales, no version of the NAB has ever appeared on the “10 Best Selling Bibles” lists you often see because all of the retailers that those lists are made from are evangelical book sellers who don’t sell any Catholic Bibles. But there are about 70 million Catholics in the US, and nearly every teen who goes through CCD or OCIA is given a copy. Even if no other copy was sold (unlikely), that has to be sales of millions every year. I would be very surprised if the NAB isn’t among the highest-selling Bible in the United States.
Would be good to have the Great Adventure Bible in an edition with the CAB translation (including its introductions and footnotes), thereby it becoming more of a genuine study Bible.
Still hoping for a single column edition at some point.