History of The Catholic Telegraph

On Saturday, October 22, 1831, the first issue of The Catholic Telegraph newspaper was printed. Starting under the direction of Bishop Edward Fenwick, OP, it carried the motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity.” At the time, the 10-year-old diocese reached from Kentucky to northern Michigan. Bishop Fenwick used the newspaper to communicate with the faithful across this wide geographic area. His letters, sermons, and reports were the primary focus of the early paper.

The Catholic Telegraph was the first Catholic newspaper founded west of the Allegheny Mountains. Except for a brief pause during the cholera outbreak in 1832, The Catholic Telegraph is the oldest continuously published Catholic newspaper in the United States. Cholera claimed the life of Bishop Fenwick during this time, and the newspaper’s first editor, Fr. Mullon, suspended publication in order to minister to those in need.

The Catholic Telegraph is lauded for its strong abolitionist positions before and during the Civil War. Throughout its long history, the paper has courageously defended Catholic social doctrine and the dignity of human life. As one Massachusetts priest Father J.M. Finnotti wrote in 1875 of The Catholic Telegraph, “Charity has had a powerful sway over its editorials.”

The newspaper’s influence was the subject of a 1943 book, The Editorial Opinion of The Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati on Contemporary Affairs and Politics, 1871-1921. It has been used widely for reference in other historical works and dissertations.

In 1937, the newspaper became known as The Catholic Telegraph Register, published by the Register chain of Catholic newspapers based in Denver. Since 1961, however, it has been under the management of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and is known, again, simply as The Catholic Telegraph.

In 2009, the newspaper launched its website: TheCatholicTelegraph.com.

In September of 2011, The Catholic Telegraph changed from a weekly to a monthly publication.

In June of 2020, the The Catholic Telegraph was published as a magazine for the first time.

Today the monthly magazine reaches nearly 130,000 homes throughout the archdiocese.