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Newspaper The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881 Morning star / Catholic messenger

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About The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881

Founded in 1868 as the official journal of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Morning Star and Catholic Messenger was the first Catholic English newspaper in the Old Southwest. Its circulation in the 1870s was approximately 4,000, of which 1,500 copies were distributed throughout Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. The paper was published by the New Orleans Catholic Publication Company, a joint stock company presided over by the archbishop of New Orleans. Its motto, printed under a large illustration of the Virgin Mary, was “How Beautiful Are the Feet of Them That Bring Glad Tidings of Good Things.”

The paper’s founder, Archbishop Jean-Marie Odin (1800-1870), was inspired by Father Napoléon-Joseph Perché, who in 1842 had established Le Propagateur Catholique, a French-language periodical that combated nativism and the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party, and who would later succeed Odin as archbishop of New Orleans. Odin had planned to establish an English-language newspaper around the time of his election as archbishop in 1861, but was unable to do so until after the Civil War. The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger’s primary audience was Irish Catholic. Miscellaneous news from the United States, Europe, and Ireland was combined with reports on Catholic charities, schools, and missions. Also of interest are announcements of Catholic publications, directories of churches and schools, a weekly calendar of events, pastoral letters of Gulf Coast bishops, and regular reports from the Vatican. The front page typically carried morally instructive fiction. Some issues featured advice columns on housekeeping, agriculture, and the industrial arts, with occasional obituaries and marriage notices.

Although the paper officially avoided politics, at least two of its editors held strong political opinions that were sometimes evident in their reporting. The first editor-in-chief, the Irish-born Rev. Richard Kane (1832-1873), had opposed secession and later advocated reconciliation with the North. In February 1872, Kane was succeeded by Rev. Abram Joseph Ryan (1838-1886). The son of Irish immigrants, Ryan had served as a chaplain with the Confederate army. After the war, he founded the Banner of the South, a Catholic religious and political weekly, in Augusta, Georgia. He later moved to Mobile, Alabama, where he lectured and wrote poetry in the “Lost Cause” style. Upon joining the staff of the Morning Star and Catholic Messenger, which he edited by telegraph from his home in Mobile, Ryan refused to endorse what he called “Northern Policy” and vehemently opposed racial integration. His criticism of former Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard, a popular New Orleans native who supported integration of public schools and reconciliation with the North, won Ryan few friends. He resigned as editor in April 1875. The paper’s third editor was William Blair Lancaster (1826-1897), a cousin of Bishop John Lancaster Spalding, founder of the Catholic University of America.

Rev. Peter M. L. Massardier of St. Theresa’s Church in New Orleans purchased the Morning Star and Catholic Messenger when the New Orleans Catholic Publication Company was liquidated in 1882. It was published as the Morning Star until 1930.

Provided By: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881

Other Title

  • Morning star
  • Catholic messenger

Names

  • Catholic Church. Archdiocese of New Orleans (La.)

Dates of Publication

  • 1868-1881

Created / Published

  • New Orleans [La.] : New Orleans Catholic Pub. Co., 1868-

Headings

  • -  Catholics--Louisiana--New Orleans--Newspapers
  • -  New Orleans (La.)--Newspapers
  • -  Catholics
  • -  Louisiana--New Orleans
  • -  United States--Louisiana--Orleans--New Orleans

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 9, 1868)-
  • -  Ceased in 1881?
  • -  Official journal of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
  • -  Issue for Feb. 6, 1870 misdated Feb. 9, 1870.
  • -  Available on microfilm from Recordak.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Morning star (New Orleans, La.) (DLC)sn 88084007 (OCoLC)18316917

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86086284

OCLC Number

  • 14109106

ISSN Number

  • 2159-385x

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger New Orleans La. -1881. (New Orleans, LA), Jan. 1 1868. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86086284/.

APA citation style:

(1868, January 1) The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger New Orleans La. -1881. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86086284/.

MLA citation style:

The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger New Orleans La. -1881. (New Orleans, LA) 1 Jan. 1868. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86086284/.