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Preface

John Francis Noll, fifth bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and founder of Our Sunday Visitor, was one of the most influential Catholics of his day. His accomplishments were legion; he made his mark on nearly all of the major Catholic ventures of his time, and many of the institutions and works that he founded or influenced are still thriving today, although he died in 1956. His life spanned one of the most tumultuous periods of American Catholic history, from the era of Pope Pius IX and the First Vatican Council to the threshold of change inspired by Vatican Council II. He lived during a period of unprecedented expansion and immigration in this country, when the American Church was growing exponentially. Catholics in America needed a sense of identity, a sense of self-confidence and pride.

Statue of Archbishop Noll sculpted by Eugene Kormendi

Noll began to organize and educate an emerging Catholic laity. His was the first Catholic newspaper with national scope, and it signaled the effort to unite American Catholics, bridging the regionalism and ethnic diversity with a corporate identity. A great churchman, Noll was always concerned with the welfare not only of his own diocese, but also of the Church at large. He stands today as the most outstanding Catholic publisher in America.

This book is not a definitive biography. It is not intended as a “brag book” of his accomplishments. Rather, I have tried to paint with words the portrait of the man behind the miter — a man whose works and influence touched millions of American Catholics. He established the ideals for a newspaper and book publishing company with which I have enjoyed working for more than twenty years. It is my hope that the reader of this book will come to better appreciate not only the man who did so much for the Catholics of the United States, but also the humble priest with a strong and simple faith and a generous heart.

— Ann Ball