MM 50 Years Ago

Uphill struggle of Catholic magazines

The Australian Messenger of the Sacred Heart – the vital little magazine with the spiritual punch – has lately been forced by rising costs to lift its annual subscription to $2.60.

When Fr K I McGrath SM founded the Marist Messenger in 1929, it was the Australian ‘Messenger’ that he had in mind to imitate, though our “Messenger’ swiftly became a person in its own right and has continued to become even more so.

Our Marist Messenger barely holds its own in circulation. New subscribers merely replace those who have died or who have changed addresses, forgotten to notify us, and so become lost to us.

Fr Maurice Mulcahy SM

Bishop Pompallier medal

The new Pompallier College, Whangarei, has just issued, with the approval of Bishop Delargey, a commemorative medal to recall the first Bishop of New Zealand who played such an important part in building up not only the Catholic Church here but also our nation.

It will commemorate the centenary of Bishop Pompallier’s death that occurred on 21 December 1871.

July 1971