History of New Orleans’ Catholic press dates to 1842

by Peter Finney Jr.

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

In its history, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has had several Catholic newspapers chronicling the church and its people on a local, national and international level. Here’s a snapshot of New Orleans Catholic newspapers:

Le Propagateur Catholique (1842-1864)

The weekly, French-language Le Propagateur Catholique was the first Catholic newspaper in Louisiana. It has ties to the era of anti-clericalism in France that began with the French Revolution in 1830. Many French clergy decided to leave their homeland for French colonies in the New World. Among those who arrived in New Orleans was Father Napoleon Perche, a future archbishop of New Orleans. When he arrived in 1837, he befriended the Ursuline Sisters and became close to Bishop Antoine Blanc.

In 1842, Father Perche established Le Propagateur Catholique, which he described as a “family newspaper edited by a Society of Men of Letters.” It was written in elegant French and supported the bishop in his battles with the lay trustees of St. Louis Cathedral, who had claimed the right to appoint clergy. The three-year controversy was eventually settled in civil court in favor of the bishop.

One of the interesting footnotes of Le Propagateur Catholique was its subscription price: four escalins per month. That’s the equivalent of 50 cents per month or $6 a year.

The ultimate decline of Le Propagateur Catholique occurred for the same reason many French-language periodicals disappeared – fewer New Orleans citizens spoke French as their primary language.

The Catholic Standard (1855-62)

The English-language Catholic Standard capitalized on the growing Irish Catholic presence in New Orleans, most of whom worshiped at St. Patrick Church on Camp Street. The newspaper was started by a group from St. Patrick with the approval of Archbishop Blanc. The subscription price was $3 a year. The newspaper’s main focus appeared to be attacking the Know-Nothing Movement, but it did not survive the Civil War. By 1867 it had either expired or was in financial difficulties, and Archbishop Jean Marie Odin called a meeting of Catholic leaders to establish a new paper.

The Morning Star (1868-1930)

Until the arrival of the Clarion Herald, The Morning Star was the longest-running Catholic newspaper in New Orleans history. When The Morning Star began, the social fabric of New Orleans was in an uproar. Federal troops controlled the city, and racial tensions ran high.

At the time, The Morning Star was the only Catholic newspaper written in English in the South.

An interesting footnote is that while the Morning Star received the approval of several archbishops, it was never published by the archdiocese. Financial problems eventually forced The Morning Star out of business in 1930.

Catholic Action of the South (1932-1963)
One of the most remarkable figures in archdiocesan history – Msgr. Peter M.H. Wynhoven – exerted his considerable influence to create a new communications vehicle for the archdiocese called Catholic Action of the South.

The Catholic Action, launched in 1932, was the direct predecessor of the Clarion Herald. Msgr. Wynhoven was the former manager and columnist for The Morning Star, and he became editor of Catholic Action of the South. His staff also included Roger Baudier, author of the comprehensive history of the Catholic Church in Louisiana.

Catholic Action was designed originally to be a monthly newspaper, but within a year it went to weekly publication. The original subscription price was $1 a year, and the papers were delivered by mail. The paper carried advertising, but many of the ads were for Catholic schools, so it is unclear how much revenue was produced.

In the early years, Catholic Action published one page in Italian to reach a broader audience.

When the Depression finally ended, Catholic Action also began to print separate editions for the dioceses of Alexandria, Lafayette and Natchez. This system continued until 1954, when the New Orleans edition was published in conjunction with Our Sunday Visitor in Huntington, Indiana. This continued until the final issue on Feb. 24, 1963.

Clarion Herald (1963-present)

In 1962, with elementary and high schools and churches sprouting up all across the archdiocese, then-Archbishop John Cody began making plans to produce what he called “the best Catholic newspaper in the country.”

The expression often is used that “money is no object.” Archbishop Cody authorized a virtual blank check to make his dream a reality. When the first issue of the Clarion Herald was mailed to more than 100,000 homes across the archdiocese, it was unique among Catholic newspapers and one of the few newspapers in the country to be published using the “offset” printing process.

Offset printing produced unbelievably cleaner, crisper photographic images than were available in most newspapers at the time. Offset printing could rival magazine-type quality resolution on newsprint. On the strength of the first Clarion Herald printing contract, Century Graphics borrowed the money for its new offset printing press and was launched into business. It is hard to fathom a diocese in the U.S. today essentially paying for its own printing press. But, that is what Archbishop Cody did.

From its start under executive editor Msgr. Elmo Romagosa and associate editor Emile Comar, the Clarion Herald was never afraid to speak out on social issues. It wrote extensively in its early years about the vast changes sweeping through the Church as a result of Vatican Council II. And it always emphasized the visual aspect of Catholic journalism.

Msgr. Romagosa and Comar hired photographer Frank H. Methe III away from The Times-Picayune, and Methe’s photographs set the standard for Catholic newspaper journalism in the entire country.

The goal of the Clarion Herald has always been to chronicle the local church in action and inspire readers about their Catholic faith. After Katrina in 2005, the Clarion Herald increased the frequency of its publication from biweekly to weekly in order to provide the latest news on the recovery of churches, schools and institutions in the archdiocese.

Because mail delivery was virtually impossible in the aftermath of the storm, the Clarion Herald began delivering the paper to churches each weekend, initially by its staff, then a courier, so that parishioners could pick up a copy after Mass. Readers and advertisers reported they enjoyed the new delivery system. The Clarion Herald moved to a biweekly printing schedule after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Over the years, the Clarion Herald has won numerous individual and overall awards from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada. In 2016, polling of Catholics during the archdiocese’s Ninth General Synod resulted in the Clarion Herald being named the second-best thing done in the archdiocese.

The Clarion Herald seeks to fulfill its stated mission: “To enable its readers to grow in their Catholic faith, to develop as mature, well-informed Catholics and to deepen their commitment to and relationship with the Lord, their Catholic faith and their Church.”

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