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Under new ownership in 1929, the paper experienced the rst of several name changes, becoming the Catholic Courier and Journal and achieving recognition as an of cial publication of the Diocese of Rochester. But it wasn’t until the Great Depression when the diocese, then led by the media-savvy Bishop John F. O’Hern, “adopted” the paper in 1932, according to The Diocese of Rochester in America: 1868-1993, a history by the late-Father Robert F. McNamara. By the time of its 50th anniversary, the paper dropped “and Journal,” becoming simply Catholic Courier, a name to which it returned on its 100th anniversary in 1989.
While reporting the growth of schools, parishes and lay organizations in the local church, the paper also related the horrors of World War II and urged diocesan Catholics to pray the rosary for peace. Decades later the paper reported continuing developments at the Second Vatican Council, and helped prepare
local Catholics for the many changes the council would bring. A social-justice orientation took root in the 1970s as the paper – then known as the Courier-Journal – reported on anti-war efforts and church-supported activism on behalf of farm workers and other laborers.
From the 1960s onward, rapid technological advances brought many improvements to the paper’s appearance and readability. “Spot” color was introduced in the 1970s, and the Courier dabbled in full color as early as the mid-1980s, moving to all-color editions in 2003. “Cold type,” so-called “desktop publishing” and the advent of Photoshop and digital photography also enabled the Courier staff to continually improve the paper’s design and readability. Over the last 30 years, the paper has won hundreds of awards for journalistic, photographic and design excellence from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada and the New York Press Association.
The 1939 Golden Jubilee edition of the Catholic Courier contained a montage of photos of staffers working on the newspaper.
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