Curtana † Sword of Mercy published its first issue in September of 2009. It is published twice each year, under the auspices of Scriptorium Novum Press.

The editor of Curtana is Robert C. Stroud. He is a retired United States Air Force chaplain, and a pastor of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. His eleven military assignments included a tour as the editor of The Leading Edge, the Air Force chaplaincy's official publication. He has a degree in journalism and has served for many years on a variety of editorial boards, including Military Medicine, official journal of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. In addition to Air Force and Joint decorations, Chaplain Stroud has also received medals from the United States Army and the United States Navy. He is a fourth generation military member. His father retired as a sergeant major from the United States Marine Corps, a veteran of Korea and Vietnam. His grandfather earned the Mexican Border Service Medal as an Army corporal during the First World War. His great-grandfather served for the duration of the War Between the States as a corporal in the Fifth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry.