Catholic newspaper in the United States
National Catholic Register |
 Cover of National Catholic Register, February 26 - March 10, 2012 issue |
| Type | Catholic |
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| Format | |
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| Owner(s) | EWTN |
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| Founder(s) | Matthew J. Smith |
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| Publisher | Michael Warsaw |
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| Founded | November 8, 1927; 96 years ago (1927-11-08) |
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| Language | English |
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| Headquarters | Irondale, Alabama |
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| Circulation | 24,706 (as of 2013)[1] |
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| ISSN | 0027-8920 |
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| Website | ncregister.com |
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The National Catholic Register is a Catholic newspaper in the United States. It was founded on November 8, 1927, by Matthew J. Smith as the national edition of the Denver Catholic Register. The Register's current owner is the Eternal Word Television Network, Inc. of Irondale, Alabama, which also owns the Catholic News Agency.
Content includes news and features from the United States, the Vatican, and worldwide, on such topics as culture, education, books, arts, and entertainment, as well as interviews. Online content includes various blogs and breaking news.
The Register's print edition is published biweekly (26 times a year).[2] Tom Wehner has been the managing editor since 2009. Jeanette DeMelo became editor in chief in 2012. She was succeeded by Shannon Mullen in January 2023.[3]
History
Diocesan ownership
The National Catholic Register was founded as the national edition of the Denver Catholic Register, the official weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Denver. The National Catholic Register began publication on November 8, 1927, with four pages of national and international news. Monsignor Matthew J. Smith was its first editor.[4][5][6][7]
In June 1929, the Diocese of Monterey–Fresno asked to bundle local news with the National Catholic Register, and other dioceses followed suit. The arrangement turned into a chain known as the Register System of Newspapers. Dioceses across the United States could wrap their own diocesan newspapers around the national edition.[4][5][8][7] In 1931, Msgr. Smith founded the Register School of Journalism at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver.[8] The chain's circulation peaked in the 1950s, with the national edition and at least 34 diocesan editions reaching 850,000 households.[5][8][7][9]
Twin Circle ownership
After Msgr. Smith's death in 1960, the chain entered a period of decline. By 1970, the chain had been dismantled, with each diocesan edition being transferred back to local diocesan management.[8] On August 6, 1970,[7] Patrick Frawley's Twin Circle Publishing Co. purchased the financially struggling[4] National Catholic Register, changing its editorial focus from progressive to conservative.[10] At the point of sale, the paper had a circulation of 112,000.[4]
Legionary ownership
In 1995, Frawley sold the paper to Circle Media, a ministry of the Legion of Christ.[11] During the church sex abuse scandals of the 2000s, the paper downplayed allegations of sexual abuse by Legionary founder Marcial Maciel, and defended him against the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on its editorial pages. After new revelations in 2009, benefactors cut ties with the paper, leaving it in a precarious state. In 2010, the paper's publisher, Father Owen Kearns, issued an apology for its coverage of Maciel and his victims. He was replaced by Dan Burke, who moved the paper from weekly to biweekly publication and launched a new website.[8]
EWTN ownership
In 2011, Eternal Word Television Network acquired the paper from the Legion of Christ.[12][13]
In 2013, the Register had a print circulation of 24,706.[1]
The 2017 Catholic Press Association awards named the Register Newspaper of the Year.[14]
In 2021, the Register had an average print circulation of 43,117 based on its 2021 Statement of Ownership on file at the USPS.
