Catholic paper ceases printing after 114 years
After 114 years, the Catholic weekly newspaper published by the Benedictines of St Peter’s Abbey in Muenster is ceasing publication.
Known today as the Prairie Messenger, the weekly newspaper was launched in 1904 as St. Peter’s Bote by the Benedictine monks who accompanied German Catholic settlers from Minnesota to the Humboldt/Muenster area in 1903.
The Benedictines came to what was then the Northwest Territories as German-speaking priests for the German Catholic settlers who wanted to establish a Catholic colony.
Upon their arrival, the monks immediately began construction on what would become St. Peter’s Abbey.
One of the mandates of the Benedictine order, which has its roots in the Middle Ages, was to preserve books and culture. Education and printing were also part of that tradition.
So perhaps it is no surprise that nine months after their arrival the first edition of St. Peter’s Bote (Bote meaning ‘the messenger’) rolled off presses in Winnipeg on Feb. 11, 1904. The German-language newspaper was shipped by train to Rosthern and distributed from there.
When the railroad reached the Muenster/Humboldt area in 1905, the Benedictines purchased a printing press and moved the printing operation to Muenster.
The initial purpose of the newspaper was to bring news of the outside world to the pioneer Catholic community and to attract more settlers from the U.S.
Current editor Abbott Peter Novecosky says, “During its first 10 years, there was a lot of telling how good things were in Saskatchewan, that it wasn’t as cold as readers thought it would be. The newspaper was basically catechetical in nature, teaching the Catholic faith, promoting German language and culture, and encouraging prairie settlers to fight for Catholic schools.”
“We see a lot of religious prejudice in those early papers,” he adds. “The Ku Klux Klan was active back then. In the ’30s and ’40s, the focus was on social issues. The CCF was coming in; fascism and communism were rising in Europe. Some of the social gospel was opposed by the bishops.”
Around the Second World War, the Saskatchewan government issued legislation that only English could be taught in schools. With the loss of the German language, subscriptions to the paper declined.
Around 1923, St. Peter’s Press — as the printing arm of the Abbey was known — began printing an English version of the paper, and for some years it put out two papers weekly.
By 1948, the German edition was discontinued.
Over the years, the name of the weekly publication was changed several times to broaden its appeal. It went from St. Peter’s Bote to St. Peter’s Messenger, then to Prairie Messenger.
The paper was distributed well beyond Saskatchewan to Western Canada and parts of the United States.
It became the official newspaper of the Saskatchewan Catholic diocese and the Manitoba diocese, as well.
The largest number of subscribers was in the 1960s during Vatican Council II. The press was printing 16,000 newspapers each week.
Today the number is around 4,000.
Novecosky says the reason for closing down the publication is financial.
“My predecessor, Fr. Andrew Britz, spent most of his time fundraising. He built up a fund which helped with the cash deficits, but the fact is, our older subscribers are passing on and young people aren’t reading.
“With only 4,000 subscribers, we can’t afford to subsidize the paper. Replacing and upgrading equipment is phenomenally expensive, and with technology and the internet, the need for this type of newspaper isn’t as great as it used to be,” he added.
He says people have been incredibly generous, donating up to $75,000 a year in past 10 to 20 years, but it just isn’t enough to keep it going.
The final issue of the Prairie Messenger will be printed on May 9.
It will carry articles from former editors and columnists offering their final word and looking back on their years of service.
There will also be samples of letters to the editor expressing disappointment over the paper’s closure, and letters from readers telling how the Prairie Messenger has helped them along their life’s journey.
What will replace the Prairie Messenger?
“Saskatchewan bishops want to develop a website with Catholic news, but many elderly readers aren’t computer literate,” Novecosky said.
“In our past two issues, we’ve been encouraging subscribers to consider the Catholic Register, a paper out of Toronto. We’re also directing them to ‘Salt and Light,’ a Catholic television program.”
Nine staff will be affected by the closure.
Some have been working parttime for the Prairie Messenger and part-time at St. Peter’s Press which was established in 1905 to print materials for the Abbey and area businesses.
To subsidize the newspaper, the Press expanded to commercial projects and over the years has printed many community history books and school yearbooks.
There are currently 15 monks at St. Peter’s Abbey.