By John Norton

First OSV motto: 'To be practical and to do good'

Around the corner from my office door is a small oak roll-top desk at which the founder of Our Sunday Visitor, Father -- later Archbishop -- John Francis Noll, sat while preparing the copy for the first edition of this paper, May 5, 1912.

The first front page featured a reprinted article by a prominent Protestant praising Catholic Church law on confession and communion as beneficial to society, an article on a trend among Protestants to honor Mary, a Jesuit scholar's deconstruction of socialism, and a catechetical dialogue between a priest and a fictional Catholic named "Jones" on the importance of confession.

The cost of the paper? One cent.

A small text box in the upper right-hand corner of the front page proclaimed:

"The ONLY Penny Catholic Weekly. Its cost is the ONLY thing cheap about it. To do you good is its ONLY aim. Co-operate with it."

Well, over nearly a century, the cover price of the newsweekly has crept up to $2 an issue.

But Our Sunday Visitor is STILL the least expensive national Catholic newsweekly in the United States. And its cost is STILL the only thing cheap about it. And doing good for you is STILL its only aim.

And we are still asking you, the reader, to cooperate with it, by reading the paper cover to cover each week, letting us know what you think, and telling family, friends and acquaintances to read us, too.

We clearly have a horse in this race, but we think a vibrant, independent but faithful Catholic media is critical to the life of the Church. Our goal with the newsweekly is to keep you informed and to give you the tools you need to view the world and events with a Catholic eye.

Where there is room for faithful Catholics to disagree, we'll do our best to present both viewpoints as convincingly as possible. And in instances where the Church has spoken, we'll focus on what the Church teaches and why it does so.

Our founding editor chose this as the paper's first motto: "To be practical and to do good." Perhaps that sounds more like a motto for a social club. But I think what Father Noll intended was that the paper never forget to focus on its role of service to the reader.

That's our focus, too. It will never be a waste of your time to read this paper.

In this issue, you'll see we're previewing Pope Benedict XVI's April visit to the United States, a tremendous opportunity not only to strengthen our own faith and commitment but also to introduce our neighbors to the beauty of our Faith.

Make sure to visit osv.com/papalvisit for the latest coverage and analysis.

We are very grateful to you, our readers, for supporting us. And we recommit to doing you good.