Catholic publications closing on both sides of the Atlantic

On both sides of the Atlantic, Catholic newspapers are ceasing publication. The Universe Catholic Weekly, second oldest Catholic publication in the UK will publish its last issue tomorrow, July 26. While Our Sunday Visitor, an American weekly newspaper will transition to a monthly lifestyle magazine format later this year.

The last Our Sunday Visitor newspaper issue will be published in the last week of September, with the first issue for the magazine printed for October.

The British 164-years-old publication called the Universe had its paper version closed in June 2021, as the main way of distribution were churches and due to Covid-19 restrictions the churches were closed.

In September of that year, they relaunched the paper as a digital-only publication with the support of Cardinal Vincent Nichols naming it Universe Catholic Weekly, with owner Clive Leach appointed executive chairman and former news editor Michael Winterbottom appointed editor director.

The Universe Catholic Weekly paper went back to print in May 2023, to reverse to digital just over a year later, in June 2024, due to print and postal costs. The lower number of subscriptions to the digital paper and retirement of Mr Leach resulted in the decision to close the paper.

Our Sunday Visitor was founded in 1912 aiming to serve Catholics during an anti-Catholic wave in the US. In 2018, the newspaper did a survey, which resulted in the newspaper moving away from the news. The goal for the monthly magazine is to not only keep their readership, but also attract a younger audience.