Pope Francis Daily

You wouldn’t think the socks you wear would have a great effect on your day, but for some Catholics, they do. Whether it’s in wearing St. Michael for ajob interview, Mother Teresa for a day of volunteeringor St. Ignatius for a celebration of everyone’s favorite religious order, many place great importance on their footwear thanks to Sock Religious.

Patrons of the Catholic sock-making company, Sock Religious, choose from a wide array of socks, most of which feature an icon of a saint or other Catholic figure, images related to their story and, on the sole, a quote or prayer attributed to them (“Ora et Labora,” for St. Benedict and “Life is worth living” for Archbishop Fulton Sheen). Sock Religious, based in Indianapolis, encourages this kind of devotion. Founded on the principle of “starting conversations through joyful products,” the five-year-old business aims to bring joy to its customers and greater glory to God.

Its first footfall in the hosiery business began with an image of the pope. In the fall of 2017, founders Scott and Elizabeth Williams and Madison Cipoletti completed a design for Pope Francis socks. That November, the National Catholic Youth Conference came to Indianapolis, so the team set up a booth to test the product.

Its first footfall in the hosiery business began with an image of the pope.

“We ended up selling out of socks on the first day-and-a-half of the conference,” Ms. Cipoletti recalled, and they realized their idea had real potential. Ms. Cipoletti is now the creative director of Sock Religious and its umbrella brand, Catholic Concepts.

The company expanded quickly, advancing from fulfilling orders out of a spare bedroom to a complete sock-knitting factory. “It was always a dream of Scott’s to be able to make our own socks, to manufacture them [in the United States] and not have them made overseas,” she said. “We knit our first sock in-house on Feb. 18, 2021.”

Now housed in a 10,000-square-foot facility, Sock Religious employs 22 people and sells to tens of thousands of customers. “God has really blessed every part of the growth of our company,” Ms. Cipoletti said.

Now housed in a 10,000-square-foot facility, Sock Religious employs 22 people and sells to tens of thousands of customers.