December 19, 2017
WRITER: Mandy Mastrovita, mastrovi@uga.edu, 706-583-0209
CONTACT: Sheila McAlister, mcalists@uga.edu, 706-542-5418
ATHENS, Ga. — Historic Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah newspapers available online
The Digital Library of Georgia is pleased to announce the release of historic Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah newspapers to the Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive (GHN), part of the Digital Library of Georgia, based at the University of Georgia Libraries. The historic Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah publications include the Bulletin (1920-1962) and the Savannah Bulletin (1958).
There are three URLs to reflect the title changes of the Diocese’s publications:
The bulletin (Augusta, Ga.) 1920-1957
https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/gua1449731/
The Savannah bulletin. (Monroe, Ga.) 1958-1958
https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/gua1189480/
Bulletin (Monroe, Ga.) 1958-1962
https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/gua1189460/
The digital conversion of this newspaper was funded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah. Katy Pereira, director of archives and records management for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah notes “This project is a significant one for the Diocese of Savannah because it allows researchers, historians and the public access to a record of Catholic events in the US as well as South and Middle Georgia from the past century. We are pleased to be included in the Digital Library of Georgia’s Historic Newspaper Project where we can trust that this history will be protected and held for generations to come.”
History of Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah newspapers
In an effort to fight Catholic prejudice and resist the spread of false information regarding Catholic beliefs and history, the Catholic Laymen’s Association (CLA) of Georgia was founded in 1916. The CLA published pamphlets that explained Catholic beliefs for several years before establishing The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia in January of 1920. The Bulletin ran as a monthly newspaper out of Augusta until 1956 when the organization changed the name to The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, Official Newspaper for the Diocese of Savannah & Atlanta; this change coming after the diocese divided into two regions, Atlanta and Savannah. For a few months in early 1958, the Diocese of Savannah published the Savannah Bulletin, before the Bulletin began circulating two editions for Savannah and Atlanta through 1962. In 1963, the publication split into two separate diocesan papers, The Bulletin (Archdiocese of Atlanta) and The Southern Cross (Diocese of Savannah). The CLA disbanded in 1962, but the paper continued and exists today as the bi-monthly Southern Cross.
All images are full-text searchable and can be browsed by date and title. The GHN site is compatible with all current browsers and the newspaper page images can be viewed without the use of plug-ins or additional software downloads.
About the Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive
The Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG), a part of Georgia’s Virtual Library GALILEO and is based at the University of Georgia Libraries. Since 2007, the DLG has partnered with universities, archives, public libraries, historical societies, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions to digitize historical newspapers from around the state. The archive is free and open for public use.
About the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah was formed in 1850, comprising the entire state of Georgia and a large part of Florida. The Diocese currently comprises 90 counties in South Georgia and covers 37,038 square miles. The Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah is the Most Reverend Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv. The mission of the Diocese is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and the teachings of His Church.
About the Digital Library of Georgia
Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources. DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.
