December 29, 2025 // Diocese

Today’s Catholic Celebrates 100 Years of Serving the Church

Scott Warden

Editor-In-Chief

 

In the first days of 1926, as Catholics across northern Indiana settled into the new year, they received on their doorsteps or in their mailboxes a new offering – a diocesan newspaper from the Diocese of Fort Wayne and its new bishop, John Francis Noll.

In his days pastoring rural parishes across the diocese, Father Noll had gained notoriety by publishing pamphlets and essays that largely focused on correcting misinformation about the Church being spread by Protestants. In 1912, while serving as pastor at St. Mary in Huntington, Father Noll formalized this undertaking of apologetics by purchasing a printing press and founding Our Sunday Visitor – a newspaper aimed at educating Catholics across the United States. More than 110 years later, Our Sunday Visitor continues to serve the Church out of its Huntington headquarters.

 

In May of 1925, Pope Pius XI appointed Father Noll as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, and he was ordained by Cardinal George Mundelein of Chicago on June 30 of that year at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which was Bishop Noll’s home parish, in Fort Wayne. Just months later, seeing the fruits of his media apostolate flourish, Bishop Noll launched a Fort Wayne diocesan edition of Our Sunday Visitor on January 3, 1926.

Under the headline “The Bishop’s Weekly Chat with You,” Bishop Noll wrote: “The paper is not published, like other papers, for profit; it is not published in the interest of any political party, like many of the dailies are; its editorial policy cannot be dictated by special interests as is the case with secular papers.”

Bishop Noll continued, writing that “the primary purpose of our own diocesan paper will be: 1. To acquaint you with important Catholic happenings the week over the entire world; 2. To give you instruction on that popular form which makes it both very intelligible and interesting; 3. To furnish you with the answer to charges made against the Church, and often called to our attention by your neighbors or fellow workmen; 4. To point out the falsity and unsound philosophy of many things which you read put in secular papers and magazines; 5. To prepare you for the proper observance of the Church’s feast and festivals.”

He added: “You will readily recognize that these are lofty aims and purposes; but no matter how much the editors of the paper may propose to do for you, it will bear little fruit unless you and every member of your family will be a regular and attentive reader.”

While the diocesan newspaper has undergone changes over the past century, Today’s Catholic continues to live out Bishop Noll’s legacy by adhering to the principles he outlined in that first “weekly chat.”

Our Sunday Visitor – Fort Wayne-South Bend Edition was renamed “The Harmonizer” in December of 1972. In 1986, as part of Bishop John M. D’Arcy’s strategy to make diocesan communications more robust, Our Sunday Visitor transferred editorial control of the newspaper to the diocese, and it was named “Today’s Catholic.”

 

At the time, Bishop D’Arcy called the diocesan newspaper “a foundational part of the ministry of a bishop.” He continued, saying: “Our great predecessors in the Faith in this area used every means open to them to communicate the Gospel of Christ. The pioneer priests travelled relentlessly under difficult conditions. Archbishop Noll’s devotion to the power in the press is legendary. I see the bringing of this newspaper into every home as part of the teaching mission that you and I share together. Working together, we can reach the hearts of all our people,” Bishop D’Arcy said.

 

Bishop Rhoades has continued to stress the importance of Today’s Catholic, saying the newspaper “is an instrument for not only evangelization and catechesis but also building communion because it’s informing the readership of the life of the Church in our diocese and building communion among parishes, schools, apostolates, and more”

Bishop Rhoades added: “There is also a formation aspect that readers can find in Today’s Catholic, which will help them in their prayer life, their understanding of Church teaching, but also their involvement in the mission of our diocese and the universal Church. Today’s Catholic certainly will help to inform and educate people in their faith and inspire their calling to be missionary disciples.”

 

To honor the legacy of this newspaper – and all those who have dedicated themselves to spreading the Gospel through this important work over the past century – the staff of Today’s Catholic continue to serve the Church by forming, informing, and inspiring the faithful of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. It was Bishop Noll’s mission 100 years ago, and it is our mission still today.

Scott Warden is editor-in-chief of Today’s Catholic. He can be reached at [email protected].