On the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29), The Tidings Catholic newspaper will celebrate 110 years of continuous publication.

The paper --- which began as an ardent attempt by two men and one woman to circumvent the religious bigotry prevalent at the time --- now serves the largest archdiocese in the country and provides coverage of events, persons and issues for a community of more than 4 million Catholics.

The first issue of 1,000 copies sold for five cents but the cost of opposing malicious public statements against the Church was the courageous effort of three members of the Junípero Serra Club of San Diego. Writer Patrick Croake, retired sea captain James Connolly, and typographer Kate Murphy came to Los Angeles determined to publish a paper that upheld Catholic beliefs despite the strong opposition from the local political party called the American Protective Association (A.P.A.).

The paper managed to survive, although founded on only a capital of $400 but supported by "Irish working girls and men who had nothing to lose and who gave willingly of their meager salaries to rally public support for the struggling journal." To offset some of the continued opposition to the paper, the editor did agree to drop the "Catholic" from the masthead two years later. The bigotry eventually disappeared and by 1904 a plan organized by Catholic businessmen enabled the church to officially acquire the paper.

Since the founding of the paper, some 20 editors have spearheaded the mission of evangelizing Catholic truth through the means of the weekly publication. Only one of the editors was a woman, Alice Stevens, from 1908 to 1913, who introduced the editorial column called "El Rodeo." Six of the editors were monsignors and one a bishop, all of them erudite writers as well as pastors and educators.

Before the advent of computers, the paper was prepared by handset "hot lead" type. The largest issue was 224 pages in the early 1920s. The Tidings office has moved many times from the original site on New High Street (one block from Olvera Street) and is now located in the Archdiocesan Catholic Center on Wilshire Boulevard with all copy and graphics are produced "in house" by the staff. The paper has received numerous Catholic Press Association awards for excellence over the years.

Besides the weekly publication, The Tidings has also published the annual directory for the archdiocese since 1947 that comprises all the pertinent information for all aspects of the church in the five pastoral regions.