Contact: Christine Valentine-Owsik, Our Sunday Visitor, 215-230-8095, cowsik@osv.com; Larry Wardlaw, Asher Agency, 260-424-3373, larryw@asheragency.com
HUNTINGTON, Ind., Sept. 18, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Our Sunday Visitor, the Huntington-based global market leader for Catholic books, curricula, periodicals, offering envelopes, online giving, and a wide variety of parish resources and services, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in northeast Indiana.
To mark the occasion, Our Sunday Visitor is hosting an event that brings together some of today's brightest minds from around the country and the Vatican for a dynamic day of learning, prayer and celebration.
The celebration, "100 Years of Continuing the Legacy of Archbishop John Noll and Serving the Church," begins with an invitation-only symposium 1-4 p.m. Friday, September 28, at the Grand Wayne Center in downtown Fort Wayne, 120 W. Jefferson Blvd. The event will feature:
- His Eminence Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I., Ph.D., S.T.D., Archbishop of Chicago, speaking on Catholic apologetics;
- Helen M. Alvare, J.D., Associate Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law, speaking on religious freedom and women's equality;
- Scott Hahn, Ph.D., M.Div., Professor of Theology and Scripture, Franciscan University of Steubenville, speaking on Scripture, the Eucharist and the New Evangelization.
At 5 p.m., The Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Our Sunday Visitor, will say Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 1122 S. Clinton St., in downtown Fort Wayne. He will use Archbishop Noll's crosier and chalice. This Mass is open to the public.
At 6:15 p.m. cocktails and dinner will be served in an invitation-only event at the Grand Wayne Center. The keynote speaker is Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Ft. Wayne-based Redeemer Radio, 1450-AM, will be broadcasting the symposium and the Mass live.
Our Sunday Visitor is the largest English language Catholic publisher in the world. Its flagship periodical, OSV Newsweekly, was first published on May 5, 1912, in Huntington by Father John Francis Noll. Noll, a diocesan priest from Fort Wayne who eventually became archbishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, launched a company that today produces more than 1,700 print and electronic book and curriculum titles in addition to a half-dozen periodicals, including the North American edition of the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
"A desire to serve the Church by forming and informing Catholics in their faith was Father Noll's original vision, and it is one that continues to drive us today," said Gregory R. Erlandson, president of the publishing division of Our Sunday Visitor.
In addition to publishing periodicals, books and pamphlets, Our Sunday Visitor serves the contemporary needs of parishes and dioceses through its Offertory Solutions division, which provides complete offertory programs, stewardship services and campaign and appeal fulfillment services for parishes, missions, dioceses and other Catholic organizations. Today, the Offertory Solutions division is the largest producer of Catholic offering envelopes in the world, printing more than 800 million envelopes per year.
"Our Sunday Visitor brings consulting expertise to parishes," said Kyle Hamilton, president of the Offertory Solutions division of Our Sunday Visitor. "We can help them with the business side of things."
The Our Sunday Visitor Publishing and Offertory Solutions divisions are housed in a 220,000-square-foot plant in northeastern Indiana, with additional offices in Orlando, Fla.; and Youngstown, Ohio. The company's chairman of the board is always the standing bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, but the organization is independent from the diocese itself. Our Sunday Visitor is a not-for-profit organization, returning a portion of net earnings that is typically around $2 to $3 million dollars every year back to the local and national Catholic community through the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.
For a complete history of Our Sunday Visitor and Archbishop John Noll; a list of centennial celebration activities; and more about Our Sunday Visitor's work today, please see www.osv.com/AboutUsNav/100thAnniversary.
*PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES*
MEDIA ROOM
Franklin Room, Hilton Hotel Lobby
MEDIA WEBSITE
The day's schedule and hi-res photos will be available online at www.osv.com/AboutUsNav/100thAnniversary/PressRoom
TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW BEFORE, DURING
OR AFTER THE EVENT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Christine Valentine-Owsik, Our Sunday Visitor
215-230-8095 / cowsik@osv.com
Larry Wardlaw, Asher Agency
260-424-3373 / larryw@asheragency.com
