Christian weekly turns 175

‘The Examiner’ has literally travelled from quill to digital; still going strong

A journey from quill to digital – the phrase encapsulates the 175-year-long journey of the ‘The Examiner’, the weekly newspaper published by the Roman Catholic Church in Mumbai. The phrase was also the theme of the anniversary edition released last week.

Started as a one-page newsletter, its first editions were painstakingly written with a quill in Italian, Spanish, German, or French. Unfortunately, the only surviving copies were destroyed in a fire 15 years ago.

After a line of British editors who served for 80 years, the first Indian editor was Father Valerian Gracias from 1938-40. He later became a Cardinal, the first Indian to be promoted to a rank next to the Pope.

The magazine carried its first advertisements after its 150th anniversary. Colour pages were introduced in the late 1970s and the digital edition started 15 years ago. Through all these changes, the publication has never missed an edition. Many of these changes were seen through by Father Anthony

Charanghat, 78, who has completed 50 years of association with the magazine, 30 years of it as its editor. Excerpts from an interview…

The idea

It was a venture between lay people and priests to cater to

Christian journalism. Cardinal Valerian Gracias used to say that religion means relation to god; all scriptures speak about relationship with god.

The duty of this newspaper is to take the teachings of the Bible and translate it into the language of the common man. The primacy of space should be given to its central purpose of analysing every news from the religious point of view.

The first editors

The first editor in 1850 was Father Ignatius Persico, an Italian. Priests from different nationalities and religious orders have edited the magazine. There were priests who had learnt English after leaving their countries. British editors managed the paper for 80 years before Indians took over. Many of the Indian editors were Jesuits (the religious order that manages St Xavier’s College).