The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Spirit print edition on June 9, 2016
Type	Bi-weekly newspaper
Owner(s)	Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Founder(s)	John Ireland, James Michael Reardon
Publisher	Archbishop Bernard Hebda
Editor	Joe Ruff
Staff writers	Rebecca Omastiak, Dave Hrbacek, Barb Umberger
Founded	1911
Language	English
Headquarters	St. Paul, Minnesota
Circulation	54,000 (as of 2024)[1]
ISSN	2694-3751
OCLC number	34062019
Website	thecatholicspirit.com
Free online archives	(1911–1922) (1990–present)

The Catholic Spirit is the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Founded by John Ireland in 1911 as an 8-page weekly named The Catholic Bulletin and with a subscription base of 2,500, it was renamed to The Catholic Spirit in 1996 and currently circulates to 54,000 households in the Twin Cities area twice per month.

In 1866, a small newspaper called The Northwestern Chronicle began to be published by John Crosby Devereux in Saint Paul, Minnesota. While not originally an official Catholic newspaper, it received the support of Bishop Thomas Grace who used it to communicate to the clergy. Grace also granted free rent in a building in St. Paul's Catholic block. However, facing financial difficulties a decade after its founding, the Chronicle was purchased by Coadjutor bishop of Saint Paul John Ireland for $2,000 ($57,225 in 2023). After settling his debts, Devereaux netted a total of $1,800 ($51,503 in 2023) from his ten years of work running the paper. Never recovering from its financial difficulties and incurring debts which Bishop Ireland personally had to cover, the Chronicle was sold to the Catholic Citizen newspaper in Milwaukee in 1900.^{[2][3]: 172–173}

In 1911, then-Archbishop John Ireland founded The Catholic Bulletin with Father James Reardon as its first editor. Reardon initially resisted the appointment, stating that he had no training in journalism.^[4] The first issue was published on January 7, 1911 with a run of 2,500 papers sent to paying subscribers.^[5] Archbishop Diomede Falconio, apostolic delegate to the United States, sent a congratulatory letter. The paper served not only as the official paper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul, but of all the dioceses in the Province of Saint Paul save one.^[3]: 395

The 8-page paper was published weekly.^[6] Ireland insisted that the paper not be laudatory of his person and that it be non-political and non-controversial; he simply wanted an "interesting, well-written and well-edited Catholic newspaper".^[3]: 396 Due to Ireland's connections, the Bulletin had scoops on the erection of the Diocese of Spokane and the election of Benedict XV, publishing the stories before any other American newspapers.^{[note 1]} Reardon established a paid subscribership of 25,000 by the time he relinquished the top job at the paper in 1922.^[4][6]

After Reardon was named pastor of the Basilica of Saint Mary in 1922, Father John Volz was appointed as editor. Volz served until 1925, when a layman, Bernard Vaughn, was named editor. Vaughn served as editor until 1957, when he suffered a heart attack.^[6][7]

In 1957, Bernard Casserly, a reporter for the Minneapolis Star, became the editor. As the editor during the turbulent times following the Second Vatican Council, what Casserly chose to cover was often controversial. At one point in the 1960s, a priest cancelled 1,600 of his parishioners' subscriptions over a front-page photo of nuns dancing; in response, Casserly remarked that he considered it important to cover what was going on in the Church.^[8] In 1961, the paper had a circulation of 40,000.^[4] Casserly retired as editor in 1982.^[8] Robert Zyskowski became the editor in 1986.^[9]

The newspaper underwent a design and name change in 1996 to become The Catholic Spirit.^[10] Then-editor Robert Zyskowski took on the role of associate publisher in 1998 and helped pull the newspaper out of $2.1 million in debt.^[11] In 1991, circulation had been 30,000; by 1998, it had increased to 86,000.^[12][13]

Mike Krokos was editor from 1999 to 2004.^[14] Circulation in 2000 was around 88,000.^[15] Joe Towalski was editor from 2005 to 2014. By 2010, circulation had decreased slightly to 85,000.^[16] Jessica Trygstad was interim editor from 2014 to 2015.^[17] Circulation in 2015 was around 71,000.^[18] Maria Wiering was editor from 2015 to 2022, after which she left for OSV News. Joe Ruff, a former reporter and editor with the Associated Press, became editor in 2022.^[19][20]

The Catholic Spirit publishes twice monthly.^[21] Readers may subscribe directly or receive a free subscription subsidized by their parish.^[22] As of 2024, circulation is around 54,000.^[1]

• The Catholic Spirit
• The Catholic Bulletin (1911–1922) Archives at the Minnesota History Society
• The Catholic Bulletin at the Library of Congress