WNYCatholic Closes Its Final Chapter
Share
After more than 150 years of service, the Western New York Catholic—the official newspaper of the Diocese of Buffalo—will come to an end with the recent reductions of personnel at the Catholic Center and Communications Office.
Since 1872, the Western New York Catholic has brought the news of the Diocese of Buffalo into the homes of the faithful. It was first published as the Catholic Union under Buffalo’s second bishop, Stephen Ryan, C.M., and over the years the paper changed and merged with other Catholic papers until 1988 when it became the Western New York Catholic we know today. Across generations, its pages, and later its web edition, were filled with stories, photographs, and news of Catholic life in Western New York and around the world.
In September 2020, the Western New York Catholic ceased its print edition and moved exclusively online in response to rising costs, shrinking print advertising revenue, the COVID-19 pandemic, and shifting reader habits. In the years since, dioceses across New York and elsewhere have faced similar challenges, with the Archdiocese of New York publishing its final issue in November 2022, and the Diocese of Gary in Northwest Indiana ending its print edition in March 2025.
These decades of chronicling the impact of Catholic faith across Western New York would not have been possible without the dedicated staff, editors, writers, photographers, designers, publishers, and advertising team, all of whom embraced the mission of sharing the Good News and stories of the Catholic community over the years. To many, the Western New York Catholic was more than a newspaper; it was a ministry.
For more than a century and a half, it has connected Catholics across eight counties, chronicling the life of the Church and our brothers and sisters both locally and internationally. It’s dedicated staff brought coverage of Catholic life, news, and profiles to readers in both print and digital form. As the Western New York Catholic concludes its mission, we thank you, our readers, for your support.
In place of the regularly published Western New York Catholic, we invite you to follow developments of the Diocese, as well as Bishop Michael Fisher’s communications, on Facebook, as well as Instagram, and also Bishop Fisher’s personal Instagram account. There will also be periodic communications sent to all parishes of the Diocese on important matters and special occasions. It is our intention to stay connected as a Family of Faith and to continue to share the stories that inspire and embolden us to further demonstrate Catholic faith in action.
Also, for continued coverage on Catholic news both nationally and international please visit:
- Catholic News Agency (catholicnewsagency.com)
- The National Catholic Register (ncregister.com)
- Vatican News (vaticannews.va)
- Our Sunday Visitor (osvnews.com)
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (usccb.org)
For the time being, past issues of Western New York Catholic will be available on the Diocese’s website at this LINK.
