March 11, 2009

Denver Catholic Register turns 109

By Roxanne King and Jeanette DeMelo

You probably noticed that our cover this week is, well, green. That’s because on St. Patrick’s Day the Denver Catholic Register will celebrate its 109th birthday.

Born as the Denver Catholic on March 17, 1900 — with the cover printed in green ink in honor of St. Patrick’s Day — for over a century the Register has faithfully sought to inform, evangelize and catechize the faithful.

In 1913 Msgr. Matthew Smith took over the then-failing paper. He increased circulation, purchased modern presses, and founded the Register System of Newspapers, which at its peak in the 1950s produced some 35 diocesan papers with a weekly circulation of 850,000, and the National Catholic Register, which, at its peak, had a circulation of nearly 1 million.

Advancements in technology eventually made it possible for dioceses to produce their own papers and the Register System of Newspapers was sold in the 1970s. Many of those papers, however, including the National Catholic Register, are still in publication.

Today, the Denver Catholic Register is the largest subscription weekly in Colorado, with a circulation of more than 90,000.

Technological advancements have again transformed the newspaper industry. The Denver Catholic Register has stayed on top of those changes while remaining a good steward of its resources. We remain committed to improving the award-winning paper’s ability to proclaim the good news of salvation in the third millennium.

This year, in order to cover the growing cost of providing 90,000 registered households a newspaper, we have started the JOIN the MISSION subscription campaign. We are asking our readers to contribute to our mission by personally paying for their annual subscription to the Denver Catholic Register. The voluntary annual subscription rate is $25  (visit www.archden.org/JOIN).

The JOIN the MISSION subscription campaign is only supplementary and voluntary. We aren’t changing the way the newspaper is distributed. Every household that registers at a parish will still receive a newspaper as part of parish membership. We are simply asking for help from those readers who are able and willing to purchase an annual subscription to do so. Any contribution will help. These contributions will help to offset the rising mailing and printing costs and will help us to keep up the quality of the newspaper while at the same time offering additional dynamic information on the Web.  

The world has never needed the good news more. We thank you for being part of the Denver Catholic Register. May it bless and enrich your life and may it bring God greater glory and honor.

Roxanne King is the editor of and Jeanette DeMelo is the general manager of the Denver Catholic Register.