Even though I can’t say for sure, I will say with plenty experiential confidence that 80 years ago, the Rockford Diocese was very busy preparing for a big announcement.

I am also guessing, again with an experienced imagination,  that 80 years ago Msgr. Charles Conley was spending some late nights at the office inside St. Mary Parish, 704 S. State St., in Freeport, as he split his time between tending to his duties as pastor of that parish and preparing for a new era in evangelization and information.  

You see, in 1935 Bishop Edward F. Hoban named Msgr. Conley to produce and edit the first newspaper for the Rockford Catholic Diocese. It would be published every Thursday and sent by mail to every Catholic household.  To introduce Catholics to the new Catholic newspaper, The Observer, it was mailed for free for the first three months. After the introductory trial, the faithful would be asked to pay $1 per year for their subscriptions, mailed out second class.  In 1935, a first class stamp would set you back three cents.

I can imagine Msgr. Conley’s excitement as the first copy was “put to bed” and how anxious he might have been to see how quickly it was delivered; and to be sure, he had a copy mailed to himself as a test. (I know this to be a fact because we have the copy with Msgr. Conley’s name on it.)

In the very first issue dated Nov. 28, 1935, Bishop Edward F. Hoban wrote a message to all diocesan Catholics on the front page of the new Observer. He expressed his pleasure at presenting a “weekly Catholic journal devoted to the interests of the Catholic Church.”

“We present it to you for the first time this first week of Advent, the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. May it assist you to realize the purpose of Advent the better and prepare more seriously for the coming of Our Divine Saviour at Christmas time, by the knowledge it will impart and the devotion it will inspire for Him who came into the world for our salvation,” Bishop Hoban wrote.

And here we are 80 years later doing the same thing — busy bringing you a weekly newspaper to help you have a prayerful Advent which will lead you directly to the joy of Christmas. Oh sure, the stories in today’s paper are different from those headlines making news in 1935, but the purpose is the same — to bring information to Catholics who work to bring themselves to Christ.

Inside today’s issue you will find a special insert we call “Worth the Wait.” I am sure Bishop Hoban and his writers and editors in 1935 could never foresee the innovations that would come not just to the print business, but to all forms of media. If those technologies had been at his disposal, Bishop Hoban would have commissioned his staff to find ways to use them to lift up the Church and the Gospel message, however and wherever they could. We can certainly thank him for his forward-thinking which helped initiate, in part, the communication buffet we enjoy today in this diocese.

So next week, in the year 2014,  we begin a year-long observance and celebration of 80 years of The Observer and bringing the “interests of the Catholic Church” to your home each week. We want to use this year to give thanks and remember those who realized the potential and power of the printed word.

We want to thank Bishop Hoban and all those who helped him to begin a weekly newspaper and for the sacrifice and commitment it represented.

Our staff, Amanda, Sue, Gary, Sharon, Jill, Margarita and Kevin, dedicate themselves to carrying on the tradition and charge from Bishop Hoban: “We must have recourse to the press, which is today an important, if not necessary auxiliary to the pastors of souls in the spread of Catholic doctrine. The popes of our holy church, especially in recent times, have so stressed the importance of the Catholic press for all Catholic homes, that we cannot for a moment call into question its paramount value to the Church. Our new Catholic weekly will present to us the various truths of our faith, properly edited and interpreted according to the mind of the Church, whose mission is to carry on Christ’s work and to spread His Kingdom.”

Watch for our special issue next week which will kick off this celebration. Our anniversary issue will feature the covers of The Observer from the last 80 years. We hope you enjoy our award-winning efforts and accept our gratitude for allowing us to serve you for eight decades.