Contact: Kevin Nelles, Catholic to the Max, 800-895-6267 ext 104

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio, March 1, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- When it comes to meeting the demand for images of the Pope, an Ohio-based manufacturing company is ready for the call.

Nelson Fine Art and Gifts, a 20-year veteran of the Catholic marketing world, under their brand name "Catholic to the Max," has been there before. In 2005, then-Nelson Woodcraft was forced to go from a 4-person company to a 12-person company virtually overnight in order to meet the demand for framed Pope pictures and t-shirts.

This happened again in August 2008 when Pope Benedict came to the United States. As the official supplier of Pope merchandise for the duration of his visit, Nelson Fine Art and Gifts again expanded its staff -- this time to 30 full time employees.

Now over 4 years into a sluggish economy, Nelson and Catholic to the Max have seen many of their competitors and customers fall by the wayside. So what is it that keeps them going strong? Owner Mark Nelson says it's a mix of talent and logistics.

"We're fast and light on our feet. Oftentimes, when other companies in our industry are faced with a time-sensitive opportunity, they stumble. Because our products all originate here in our Ohio shops, we can design, create, and ship our products before overseas manufacturers even have their stuff on the first boat."

Nelson says that it is that very efficiency that positions Catholic to the Max so well for selling portraits of the new Pope.

"There is a demand to be met, we know that from past experience. I didn't set this company up to be a Pope company, but a beautiful Catholic Art company -- the Pope thing was an opportunity that came along and we met the demands of our customers."

But Nelson says it's more than meeting consumer demands that drives his catholictothemax.com website to sell and promote Pope Merchandise -- it's also a matter of religious importance that Catholic to the Max is honored to be a part of.

"It's a good thing that people want pictures of the Pope -- they should want them. They should want to wear a t-shirt with his face on it because that's a sign of life in the Catholic Church. It's a sign that we love the Holy Father."

In the United States, where the new Pope will most likely be unknown to Catholics, Nelson says that it's up to companies like his to respond quickly and make the new Pope's image available to the masses.

"When the white smoke goes up, we'll be ready."

Nelson Fine Art and Gifts is based in Steubenville, Ohio. All "New Pope" products are available for pre-order at www.catholictothemax.com, or by phone at 800.895.6267.