Holy cards have their origins in portable woodcuts of old master prints. These portable prints served many of the same functions as holy cards in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The oldest surviving example of these woodcuts is an image of St. Christopher from 1423. Later, engravings and etchings became more common. These were often created by monasteries and convents as a way to generate funds and to serve as mementos for visiting pilgrims. A special form of these cards was developed by nuns in France who would create elaborate lace borders for the cards. These elaborate holy cards became known as devotes dentelles.
The invention of lithography in the 18th century made it possible to mass produce holy cards easily, increasing their popularity. The development of chromolithography, which allowed multiple colors to be used, in the early 19th century led to an explosion in the popularity of holy cards. One of the earliest centers of manufacturing was at the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris. There cards were noted for their pastel colors and proved to be influential on later designs. As their popularity grew, Belgium, Germany and Italy also became centers of manufacturing holy cards. Catholic printing houses produced thousands of cards and, often, a single design would be printed by multiple companies in different countries. For a time, they even proved to be collectible, as companies would produce a series of cards about the life of a saint and package one card with a product such as a box of chocolates. The consumer would then try to collect all of the cards in the series.
The popularity of holy cards continued to grow into the 20th century. One of the most famous of these holy cards is known as the Head of Christ and is based on the famous painting by Warner Sallman. It was widely produced and distributed to soldiers during World War II, and its popularity increased during the early days of the Cold War. However, following Vatican II and the introduction of the Novus Ordo Mass led to a decline in the use of holy cards as the need for missals declined. However, in recent years, interest in holy cards has seen a resurgence, especially among collectors.