The stories of our faith community find a new home at Beaconnj.org
The Diocese of Paterson will cease printing its beloved newspaper, The Beacon, at the end of the year, concluding a 58-year publication run at the helm of four different bishops. Bishop Lawrence B. Casey oversaw the publication of the first edition of The Beacon on Jan. 26, 1967. Bishop Frank J. Rodimer and Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli built upon Bishop Casey’s vision of a diocesan newspaper as an effective local teaching instrument of the diocesan bishop through their award-winning columns. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who was introduced to the Diocese in 2020 during a time of pandemic through his conversational weekly column that has encouraged the faithful in a time of synodality, will publish the paper’s final edition on Dec. 26, 2024.
Statement from Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney
The Beacon has celebrated the good news of our Catholic faith and illuminated the life-changing work of its people for almost six decades. We are a family of Christ in northern New Jersey, inspiring each other to live out our baptismal call to share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Over the years, The Beacon has documented our communal faith journey and pointed the way to renewed encounters with our Savior.
This is not the end of the story. The Beacon will live on in its new form: Beaconnj.org, where the important stories of our faith community will continue to be passed along. All are encouraged to visit the website often for the latest news, columns from Bishop Sweeney, event information, and more! Subscribe to our newsletter, The Beacon and Beyond, for weekly updates. Share and experience what is happening in your local parish, school, and religious community in the Community section. Beaconnj.org also features a new “What To Do!” calendar events page where submissions are welcome! We hope you will enjoy The Beacon’s new digital form. Your feedback is encouraged. Thank you in advance for being a part of The Beacon’s transformation.
As we look forward, we also look back and give thanks to The Beacon’s faithful readers, contributors, advertisers, staff, and freelancers. We are grateful to our parish priests and parishioners for providing the significant investment of financial support for The Beacon’s operations. Without this partnership, the newspaper could not have carried out its mission.
With the closure of The Beacon’s print edition, the PDF E-edition will also cease publication. However, it will remain archived online.
The decision to stop printing the newspaper was reached after careful research and analysis, including a comprehensive review of finances, readership, and mission. It follows consultation with parish priests, staff, parishioners, Beacon staff, and diocesan leadership. The Beacon has experienced mounting financial challenges because of repeated printing and postage cost increases. Additional headwinds include steep advertising revenue declines.
Much has happened since 1967, including the emergence of network news, the Internet, social media, and podcasts. In turn, news and information consumption habits have changed, too. Between 1970 and 1990, newspapers thrived. However, circulation has been on a constant decline since. The Beacon newspaper is not immune to this shift, but we are well-positioned to continue The Beacon’s mandate. On the vanguard of communication from its earliest days under the direction of the renowned editor Gerald Costello, the foundation of The Beacon remains firm so that we will continue to build upon it and hand on the message of salvation in this always quickly changing digital age.
Research shows that news websites or apps are the preferred source for news of the day. Visitors to newspaper websites are growing, and analytics tell us our online news presence is working.
While interest in print newspapers as a news and information source has waned over the years, our diocese’s stories and messages, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, resonate deeply within our faith community and beyond. We are as committed as ever to presenting this good news in new and thoughtful ways.
In Christ,
Jai Agnish
Director of Communications
Editor, The Beacon
