A PATRON SAINT OF ENTREPRENEURS & CO-OPS?
A short course with Jesús María Herrasti & Dr. Stephen Cortright
Sacerdote José María Arizmendiarrieta
What would a Business look like if it was founded on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching?
We hosted a webinar in honor a simple parish priest who against great odds organized his followers to put Catholic social teaching to work and founded the world’s largest worker-owned cooperative business in the world. Servant of God Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta was the force behind Mondragon Corporation, which today exceeds $13 Billion in revenue and employs over 75,000 worker-owners across the globe through its nearly 300 companies across an array of sectors incuding finance, manufacturing, education, retail, and consulting. Not only was this man a great business leader, but he is also thought by many to be worthy of being elevated to the altars as a canonized saint.
Many San Franciscans might recognize his name through one of San Francisco’s favorite bakeries called “Arizmendi Bakery”.
Jesus Maria Herrasti
Jesus Maria Herrasti has held various executive positions within companies of the Mondragon Corporation across multiple sectors including being Chairman of Mondragon Corporation. He has also served several boards including Laboral Kutxa, a Basque credit union. He was also served as mayor of the Town of Aretxabaleta. He had the pleasure of knowing Josemaria Arizmendiarrieta personally.
Dr. Stephen Cortright
S. A. Cortright is Professor of Philosophy and Tutor, Integral Curriculum of Liberal Arts, at Saint Mary’s College of California, where he has taught for over forty years. In connection with Catholic social teaching, among other works, he is the author-editor, with Michael J. Naughton and Sr. Helen Alford, OP, of Rethinking the Purpose of Business and Rediscovering Abundance, both from the University of Notre Dame Press.
Here’s a very limited list of resources. More are to come!
Books
Rethinking the Purpose of Business
Rediscovering Abundance
From Mondragon to America
Small is Beautiful
Small is Still Beautiful
Making Mondragon
Everything for Everyone
Papal Documents
Pope Francis Address to Italian Cooperatives
Pope Benedict XVI Address to Italian Cooperatives
Pope John Paul II: Centesium Annus
Leo XIII: Rerum Novarum
Relevant Websites
Cause for the Canonization of Josemaria Arizmendi
The Economy of Francesco
The Distributist Review
Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives
US Federation of Worker Cooperatives
Union Co-op Council of the USFWC
Los Angeles Union Cooperative Initiative
Academic Articles
Truly Much Can Be Done by Nathan Schneider