The Florida Catholic Timeline
Published: 01.02.08
• Dec. 1, 1939 — The Florida Catholic publishes its first weekly issue, with its founder, Msgr. William Barry, as publisher and executive editor. Based in Miami, it is the state’s first Catholic newspaper and it covers the entire Diocese of St. Augustine, which at the time encompasses nearly the whole state of Florida.
• Aug. 13, 1940 — Bishop Patrick Barry, bishop of St. Augustine and brother of Msgr. Barry, dies.
• Aug. 1, 1942 — Bishop Barry’s successor as bishop, Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley, takes over as publisher and moves the Florida Catholic central office to St. Augustine.
• Oct. 7, 1958 — The Diocese of Miami is formed, and Bishop Coleman F. Carroll is installed as its bishop. Bishop Carroll within six months founds a new newspaper for his diocese, The Voice, and the Florida Catholic discontinues Miami coverage for what will be more than 40 years.
• Jan. 30, 1959 — The Florida Catholic carries its first announcement of Pope John XXIII’s intention to convene more than 1,500 cardinals, bishops and other prelates for the first ecumenical council since 1870. Coverage of the council, which would become known as Vatican II, continues through the 1960s and ’70s.
• April 23, 1959 — Father Vincent Smith, then executive editor, moves the newspaper to the Orlando suburb of Winter Park.
• August 1965 — Father David P. Page becomes executive editor and continues to serve for 25 years.
• June 17-18, 1968 — Orlando and St. Petersburg dioceses are formed. Also, the Diocese of Miami is made an archdiocese and named Metropolitan See for all of Florida.
• October 1969 — The newspaper hires Henry Libersat as editor, who remains editor/general manager until his retirement in 1999.
• Nov. 3, 1972 — Florida Catholic switches from broadsheet to tabloid newspaper format. The following year, the paper begins publishing two editions rather than one, Gulf Coast and Central Florida.
• 1975 — Pope Paul VI creates Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, taking land from dioceses of Mobile, Ala., and St. Augustine.
• Sept. 7, 1984 — The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee publishes its own edition of the paper.
• Oct. 24-25, 1984 — Dioceses of Venice and Palm Beach are formed. Venice begins a diocesan edition of the Florida Catholic on Nov. 2, 1984, and Palm Beach on Sept. 6, 1985.
• Sept. 10-11, 1987 — Pope John Paul II visits Miami at the invitation of Archbishop Edward McCarthy. During the pope’s visit, 250,000 faithful attend Mass at Tamiami Park and the pope visits with President Reagan at Vizcaya.
• Nov. 2, 1990 — Miami publishes its first edition of the Florida Catholic since 1958, to replace The Voice. Addition of Miami brings circulation of the paper to 140,000, serving six of the state’s seven dioceses.
• Sept. 20, 1991 — Florida Catholic publishes special section commemorating the 500th anniversary of Christianity’s arrival in the Americas, “Heritage and Hope: Evangelization in America.”
• Aug. 28, 1992 — The Florida Catholic runs its first coverage of Hurricane Andrew, taking up the issue’s first five pages. The next edition, Sept. 4, has a 16-page special section on the recovery efforts. The Catholic Press Association award-winning coverage extends throughout the recovery process.
• Dec. 18, 1992 — Florida Catholic reports on its survey of priests and religious: 75 percent say the newpaper’s content is balanced between conservative and liberal; 83 percent say it covers national and international church news adequately; 95 percent favored frank discussions of church controversies.
• April 16, 1993 — The Florida Catholic shifts formats to give readers more local news and features, more youth coverage, more attention to issues close to home. Each diocese has its own section.
• March 30, 1995 — Pope John Paul II releases “Evangelium Vitae” (The Gospel of Life). “At the heart of the encyclical is an urgent plea to reverse world trends toward social acceptance and legalization of abortion and euthanasia — attacks on life at its weakest points,” the Florida Catholic reports in its March 31 issue.
• October 1995 — The Florida Catholic covers the aftermath of Hurricane Opal, which hit northwest Florida causing an estimated $1.8 billion in damages.
• Jan. 21-24, 1997 — When Pope John Paul II visits Cuba, the Florida Catholic reports on it from the perspective of south Florida’s many Catholic Cuban exiles.
• December 1999 — Florida Catholic gets a new look, including a new nameplate and color on inside pages.
• November 1999-April 2000 — The Florida Catholic covers the saga as relatives of Elian Gonzalez keep him in Miami while his Cuban father and the Cuban government try to get him back. The saga ends when immigration agents grab Elian from his grandparents April 22.
• February 2002 — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issues statement condemning priest sex abuse and vowing to protect children. Florida bishops publish a statement in the Florida Catholic’s March 7 issue.
• June 20, 2002 — Florida Catholic publishes a special edition to cover the USCCB’s meeting in Dallas on the sex-abuse scandal. After the June 13-15 meeting, the bishops adopt a zero-tolerance policy for priests who abuse minors.
• Sept. 4, 2003 — Florida Catholic unveils new look with new banner and references to inside stories down the left side of the front page.
• Oct. 16, 2003 — Florida Catholic publishes special edition on Pope John Paul II’s 25th anniversary as pope.
• May 2004 — Bishop-publishers of the Florida Catholic receive 2004 Bishop John England Award from the Catholic Press Association. given to publishers who have exercised and defended the First Amendment rights and prerogatives, freedom of the press and/or freedom of religion.
• August-September 2004 — The Florida Catholic covers the impact upon and response from the state’s Catholic community as four hurricanes hit the state — Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne — which caused a record $45 billion in property damage in the United States.
• April 2, 2005 — Pope John Paul II dies. Special editions of the Florida Catholic are printed April 8 and April 15, including coverage of the mourning from Poland.
• April 19, 2005 — Former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI.
• Summer 2005 — In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Florida Catholic reports on dioceses aiding in the relief effort, especially in areas of Mississippi and Louisiana.
• Oct. 13, 2006 — The Florida Catholic publishes its first issue under a massive redesign and a new motto to guide coverage: “Your faith. Your life. Your community.”
• Oct. 2007 — The Florida Catholic becomes one of the first diocesan publications to hire a full-time Web content editor and increases its Internet presence with an all–new online edition incorporating the latest news–gathering and presentation technology.
• April 2008 — The Florida Catholic sends reporters and photographers to Washington, D.C., and New York to cover Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States.
• Oct. 24, 2008 — The Florida Catholic publishes its final St. Petersburg edition. The newspaper immediately begins work on providing editing, design and production services for the diocese’s new publication, a bimonthly magazine called Gathered, Nourished, Sent.
• Nov. 7, 2008 —The Florida Catholic begins a new publication year with a new philosophy — “In print, online, all the time”— producing biweekly print editions and… placing more emphasis on delivering fresh content through its online edition, www.thefloridacatholic.org.
• Jan. 2, 2009 — The Florida Catholic kicks off its 70th anniversary year-long celebration with a special themed issue.
Compiled by Lynn Ramsey from the Florida Catholic archives.