As noted elsewhere in this edition, this week we are observing the 75th anniversary of our award-winning diocesan newspaper, The Evangelist. Founded by Bishop Edmund F. Gibbons, the first issue was dated on St. Joseph's Day, March 19, 1926, under the editorship of Father Joseph Dunney.
The Evangelist did not appear out of the blue, however, but was preceded by a number of other Catholic publications, some under the auspices of the Diocese, some funded by independent lay people. Some of these newspapers were published in English; others in foreign languages:
* The Catholic Pioneer, which began in 1853;
* The Catholic Chronicle, which ran from 1868-69;
* The Catholic Reflector, 1872-75;
* The Catholic Telegraph, 1878 to approximately 1886;
* Katholisches Volkblatt (Catholic People's Voice), a German-language paper that appeared in 1885;
* Catholic Chronicle, 1892-94;
* Swiat Polsko-Amerykanski (Polish-American World), a Polish-language paper in 1894;
* The Vatican, 1894-99;
* The Catholic Journal, which debuted in 1896, and
* The Vatican and Catholic Star, 1900-08.
Connections
It's interesting to note that a number of people with ties to the Diocese of Albany were movers and shakers in the history of American Catholic journalism:
* Orestes Brownson (1803-76), for example, was raised in Ballston Spa and, after conversion to Catholicism, became the founder of the Brownson Quarterly Review, an intellectual publication addressing the religious and secular issues of the day.
* Father Isaac Hecker (1819-88), also a convert to Catholicism, was the founder of the Paulists. He worked closely with Father Clarence Walworth, the pastor of St. Peter's parish in Troy and later of St. Mary's in Albany, to develop teaching tracts and publications designed to reach the unchurched.
* Still another convert to Catholicism, James McMaster (1820-86), who was born in Duanesburg and graduated from Union College in Schenectady, became the editor of the Freeman's Journal and the Catholic Register, the official newspaper of Archbishop John Hughes of New York.
Genesis
So, 75 years ago, when Bishop Gibbons made the decision to establish an official diocesan publication, he did so in line with a distinguished history of Catholic journalism associated with the Diocese and by expanding upon a missionary journal called The Evangelist, which was being published by Msgr. John Glavin, pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Rensselaer (hence the origin of the newspaper's name).
Bishop Gibbons' original vision for The Evangelist -- "to spread the Gospel and diffuse a knowledge of the Catholic religion" -- has been well fulfilled. Under the dynamic editorship of Msgr. Gerald Kirwin and Fathers Joseph Dunney, Joseph Varden, William Jillisky, Kenneth Doyle and Thomas Hiney, and, for the past 20 years James Breig, The Evangelist has offered up-to-date news, information and commentary about events, trends, developments and movements affecting the life of the Church.
It has alerted readers to the dangers of No-Nothingism, Fascism, Communism and New Age spiritualism. It has provided a Catholic perspective on the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars as well as on Watergate, Irangate and the Clinton impeachment.
It has been an invaluable tool for helping the people of our Diocese to understand the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the popes of the 20th century. It has helped to educate Catholics about the moral aspects of abortion, the death penalty, new medical technologies, and welfare and criminal justice reform.
Through interviews, feature stories and columns, The Evangelist has offered sage advice about raising children and coping with the growing religious secularism and indifferentism which engulf us. And it has enabled Bishops Gibbons, Scully, Maginn, Broderick and myself to be in weekly communication with the 400,000 Catholics spread across our 10,000 square mile, 14-county Diocese, as well as with our ecumenical and interfaith partners.
Cutting edge
The Evangelist has done this by employing the most up-to-date techniques (including desktop publishing and a website) and a dedicated staff who annually garner awards from the Catholic Press Association for their professionalism in areas of general excellence, editorials, special features and supplements, seasonal issues and photo journalism.
Currently, The Evangelist is the second largest newspaper in our region, with a circulation of 57,000 homes, serving approximately 100,000 readers.
The level of reader satisfaction with the paper is most impressive. A recent survey revealed that 88 percent of readers rate The Evangelist as excellent or good overall. And 81 percent of its readers spend 15 minutes to an hour plus in reading The Evangelist, with about half of them passing it on to someone else. Further, 75 percent see The Evangelist as a useful tool and 93 percent think the price is right.
Popularity
A major reason The Evangelist is so popular, I believe, is because of its concerted effort to maintain a local focus.
To illustrate this point, in the year 2000, the paper had 381 references to parishes (through feature stories, photos or quotations), which averages out to about 7.5 references per issue.
There were also 254 references to Catholic schools and religious education programs, and 281 references to other Catholic institutions, such as Catholic Charities agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, religious orders, fraternal organizations and so on.
All told during the past year, The Evangelist carried 861 local references, more than 17 per week.
Mission
As we observe this Diamond Jubilee of The Evangelist, I am convinced that its mission is as much, if not more, needed today than in 1926. The paper serves as a critically important vehicle:
* to enlighten Catholics about events in the Church and the world and how they interact;
* to promote Gospel values;
* to instruct Catholics in the moral, doctrinal and social teachings of our Catholic Christian community;
* to reach alienated Catholics with information about their faith;
* to evangelize inactive Catholics;
* to support, encourage and inspire committed Catholics;
* to present positive public relations for the Church and the Diocese;
* to put negative stories about the Church into proper perspective;
* to promote diocesan and parish programs;
* to unify our sprawling Diocese, which is as large as the state of Massachusetts; and
* to provide me as Bishop with the opportunity to communicate in a direct and timely fashion with the members of our diocesan family.
Future
However, while recognizing the inherent value of The Evangelist and taking justifiable pride in its accomplishments over the past three-quarters of a century, this anniversary occasion should also be an opportunity to ensure that our official diocesan newspaper remains poised to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Currently, therefore, The Evangelist board and staff are engaged in a study designed to envision the future of the paper. We are looking at various technologies that may need to be employed, ways wherein The Evangelist might be a source for inter-diocesan department and inter-parish communication, how to attract younger readers, and how to ensure that The Evangelist remains both affordable and accessible to every Catholic in our Diocese, both active and inactive.
I invite your thoughts and ideas on these and all issues affecting our diocesan newspaper, and I ask your prayers that The Evangelist may continue to be in the future what it has been for its first 75 years: an effective instrument for proclaiming Jesus Christ and His Good News in our day and age.