“Lift up thy voice with strength” – Part 3

Fig. 1 – Archbishop of Boston Richard Cushing preaching during a televised mass at the new Archdiocesan Television Center in 1955. Scan via the Catholic News Archive.

Links to the other parts of the series can be found here: Main Page, Part 1, and Part 2

In the preceding articles in this series, we saw how rapidly microphones and loudspeakers speakers came to be installed in Catholic churches in the 1920s, and how this quickly transitioned to widespread use of microphones to electronically amplify the entire liturgy. By the 1940s, microphones were found on the altar, on lapels, and used in moveable stands in churches throughout the world – including by the pope himself in St Peters.

By the late 1940s, microphones become even more widely used thanks to the rapid spread of televised masses. Television in these years was a new and powerful cultural phenomenon. Many within the church viewed television as a bold new arena for evangelistic efforts and for the pastoral care of the faithful, and it was only a few short years before multiple Catholic dioceses offered regular weekly televised mass programs.

The rise of radio broadcast and televised masses also notably impacted the physical construction of Catholic churches during this period. By the 1950s, most new churches built in many regions of the featured a “cry room” – a separate area, somewhat soundproof, aimed at reducing the noise caused by babies and young children.

This article, the final installment of this series, will offer the first thorough survey of these trends.

It is commonly thought that the world’s first televised mass was broadcast from the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in December 1948. This midnight Christmas mass, offered by Archbishop of Paris Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard, generated headlines around the world and was watched on more than 50,000 television sets in France (footage of the mass can be viewed here).[1]

Fig. 2 – Photographs from the famous 1948 Notre Dame midnight mass. (Image sources left and right).

Contrary to popular belief, the 1948 Notre Dame mass was not the first such event. In fact, televised masses began at least two years earlier in the United States and were occurring regularly throughout the nation by 1948. In December 1946, the pioneering Los Angeles TV Station KTLA broadcast the Christmas mass at the Jesuit-run Blessed Sacrament Church on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. This is the earliest record of a televised mass of which I am aware and seems likely to be first in the world.[2]

Fig. 3 – At left: 1942 photo of Paramount experimental station W6XYZ television crew, which became KLTA in 1947. At right: 1956 photo of Blessed Sacrament church on Sunset Boulevard (Image sources left and right).

Televised masses soon swept the nation and were hosted by churches both large and small. In June 1947, Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in St. Louis televised a solemn mass as part of celebrations for the parish 75^th anniversary.[3] In November 1947, the church of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in St. Louis celebrated its centennial with a great deal of ceremony. Noted orator Rev. Fulton Sheen preached at the pontifical mass, which was celebrated by Archbishop of St. Louis Cardinal Joseph Ritter, and the entire ceremony was simultaneously televised and broadcast via radio along with live commentary.[4]

Fig. 4 – Photograph of Fulton Sheen and Cardinal Joseph Ritter at St. John the Apostle & Evangelist’s televised centennial mass, from The St. Louis Register, November 14, 1947. Scan via the Catholic News Archive.

On December 21 that same year, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia hosted what was called an “epoch-making” televised solemn mass. A few days later, the Christmas midnight mass was broadcast from St. Aloysius church in Detroit with an elaborate set-up using two cameras and a series of six microphones.[5]

1948 was a bumper year for high profile TV masses: solemn Easter mass was televised for the first time from the Cathedral of St. Louis in March, a solemn high mass of exposition to begin the 40 hours devotion was broadcast from the Philadelphia cathedral in November, and multiple major sees offered televised Christmas masses from their cathedrals, including New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and Paris. The mass in New York was a particularly grand production: it required 5 cameras (one of which used a special lens custom-produced for the event), a production staff of 25 people, over 16 hours of preparation, and was broadcast simultaneously on three TV networks.[6]

These new televised masses were extremely popular and warmly received by the laity. Indeed, they were so popular and trendy that bishops felt required to offer regular reminders that televised masses did not replace the obligation to attend mass in person on Sunday. Newspaper accounts throughout this period reveal repeated episcopal statements on this subject. It was also discussed in the new edition of the Baltimore Catechism published at this time, and by the Vatican itself:

Fig. 5 – A collage of newspaper articles between 1948 and 1951, demonstrating the repeated efforts of the hierarchy to clarify that TV masses did not substitute for the requirement to attend mass in person. Scan via Newspapers.com and Trove.

In November 1949, Cardinal Spellman of New York inaugurated the first in a landmark series of televised Sunday evening masses in France while in Europe during a trip to Rome. Father Louis Pichard, a French Dominican priest who was a skilled radio and television technician, had arranged with the French government to have the state national television service broadcast the services each Sunday evening from 5:30-7pm. Pichard had secured the blessing of Pope Pius XII for the French endeavor, and had also travelled to Rome to discuss fundraising for television broadcasting equipment for use in the pope’s own masses.[7]

Archbishop of Boston Richard Cushing was an early and strong proponent of the benefit of televised masses. In the midst of his 1949 “crusade” to promote daily mass attendance amongst the laity, Cushing described his hope that mass “would be televised daily in the near future.”[8] That December, Cushing organized the first televised mass in Boston at the cathedral for Christmas midnight mass. The event required a crew of 17 people, eight microphones, three cameras (one of which utilized the special custom lens designed for the mass at St. Patrick’s in NYC the previous year), and a “large microwave dish” which was temporarily erected on the roof of the cathedral to facilitate the live broadcast.[9] Televised masses on major feast days like Easter and Christmas were extraordinarily popular and became annual traditions in Boston, New York, and the cathedrals of many dioceses throughout the country.[10]

Fig. 6 – Archbishop Cushing Celebrates Christmas Eve Mass 1949. Photographs courtesy of the Archive, Archdiocese of Boston. Used with permission.

The widespread fascination with televised masses soon gave rise to pioneering broadcasts of other Catholic sacramental celebrations and special liturgical events. In 1949, the consecration of three bishops in Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral was televised to much fanfare and spectacle. This was quickly emulated throughout the United States, with other dioceses televising episcopal consecration masses (for example, in Philadelphia and Buffalo in 1952).[11]

In 1950, the first televised funeral mass was broadcast from Cincinnati, Ohio. The pontifical requiem mass for Archbishop John T. McNicholas, OP was attended by three cardinals, eight archbishops, thirty-two bishops, and the papal apostolic delegate to the United States, in addition to the governor of Ohio, the mayor of the city, and other dignitaries.[12] This established a trend of notable funerals being televised throughout the country (like the funeral of Archbishop Thomas Walsh of Newark, New Jersey in June of 1952).[13]

The Archdiocese of Boston was a major player in the new trend of televising sacraments and other unique liturgical experiences, due to Archbishop Cushing’s passion for televised masses. He believed strongly in their importance for catechesis, evangelization, and pastoral care of the laity, and he planned to “expand the [television] program to the fullest extent” by broadcasting “the catholic sacraments of marriage, baptism, and confirmation” in addition to monthly and weekly regular televised masses.[14]

Fig. 7 – Cardinal Cushing blesses Rita Marie McLaughlin, 22, and John J. Gallagher, 23, after their televised wedding mass. Scan via the Catholic News Archive.

The first-ever televised wedding mass was celebrated by Archbishop Cushing on August 24, 1952, in the special chapel-studio at TV station WBZ which had been created specifically to facilitate regular broadcasts of the liturgy.[15] This special wedding mass generated headlines worldwide. Cushing also televised the first priestly ordination ceremony from St. John’s Seminary chapel in Brighton in February 1953 (after having also broadcast the first Christmas midnight mass from a seminary chapel) and the first ordinations for a religious order in December 1954 at St. Columban’s Seminary in Milton.[16]

Cushing’s plan for a televised baptism was finally realized in September 1956 with the baptism of Richard Cushing Morrissey, the seventh child of Francis X. Morrissey (secretary to then-senator John F. Kennedy). Cushing used the landmark American Collectio Rituum of 1954 to perform the baptism almost entirely in English to an estimated audience of one million viewers.[17]

The Catholic Church in the United States unquestionably led the world in innovating and adopting televised masses, but the practice soon spread throughout the globe.

Fig. 8 – Still frame from the partially-televised outdoor mass at Wembley Stadium in London in 1950. (Image source).

In 1950, as part of elaborate and moving celebrations for the centenary of the restoration of the hierarchy in England, an outdoor mass was held in Wembley Stadium. The mass was attended by seven cardinals, twelve archbishops, 46 bishops, and over 100,000 people. It was partially televised (short clips can be viewed here and here, and a much longer film is available here) and was the first-ever televised mass in England.[18]

In 1952, the BBC arranged for a special televised mass from St. Denis in Paris to be broadcast throughout the United Kingdom. The mass featured an English homily and English narration and was the first time a complete Catholic mass was televised in the United Kingdom.[19] Various Protestant groups protested the event, with opposition so strong in Presbyterian Scotland that the regional television facility refused to air the footage. This was the first time a subsidiary refused to broadcast BBC content and a formal inquiry was opened into the incident. Even more strident and formal (though ultimately unsuccessful) Protestant protests were lodged in 1954 when the BBC broadcast mass from St. Anne’s Cathedral in Leeds.[20]

Fig. 9 – 1954 televised solemn mass by Bishop John Heenan in the Cathedral of St. Anne in Leeds, England. (Image source).

In March 1953, the first televised mass occurred in Germany. It was arranged by the Catholic commission for television, which had been established by the German Bishops Conference, and was broadcast from the sacristy of St. Gereon’s church in Cologne.[21] In December 1953, the first televised Christmas mass in Rome occurred on at Ara Coeli on the Capitoline Hill, one of the most ancient churches in the city.[22] History was made yet again a few months later at the canonization ceremony for Pope Pius X in May 1954, the second outdoor canonization and the first to be televised.[23]

By 1954, televised masses had become such a widespread phenomenon that an international conference was held in Paris to discuss the topic. Hosted by the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television (UNDA), the conference debated the usefulness of televised masses and concluded with a televised mass from the royal chapel of Versailles.[24]

In December of that year, Archbishop of Paris Cardinal Maurice Feltin organized a spectacular televised Christmas midnight mass from Notre Dame. The elaborate production was broadcast by a joint effort of eight major European television networks and was viewed by millions of people throughout Europe to high praise (the London Sunday Times praised it as “one of the outstanding television broadcasts of this or any other year.”)[25] Additional televised masses were also held in the United Kingdom, at St. Mary’s Franciscan Friary in Sussex and from St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh.[26] The following year, Christmas mass was televised throughout Europe by the Premonstratensian abbey of Our Lady of Tongerlo, near Antwerp.

Fig. 10 – At left, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris Maurice Feltin preaching into a microphone during an undated mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Parish; at right, Feltin departing the Cognacq-Jay television studios where the regular televised mass and Catholic programming series ‘Le Jour du Seigneur’ was filmed. (Image sources left and right).

In March 1956, Pope Pius XII offered televised mass from St. Peter’s Basilica on the occasion of his 80^th birthday and to mark the 17^th year of his pontificate.[27] In December, Christmas mass was televised from St. Patrick’s cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. The mass (one of the first, if not the first in Australia) was celebrated in the presence of Archbishop Daniel Patrick Mannix who was then 92 years old.[28]

There can be a tendency for conventional historical narratives to view these events as exceptions or isolated incidents, but it is important to stress the near-universality and frequency of televised masses during this period. They occurred throughout the nation and quickly transitioned from occasional events to regularly scheduled programming.

Fig. 11 – At left, the control room of the WOOD TV studios, used for televised Masses in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. At right, a photo of the WOOD TV television chapel circa January 1956 (Image source left and right).

A wide variety of masses were televised, beyond headlining annual feasts like Christmas and Easter. A brief survey of examples include: [29]

There were other interesting trends that appeared during period, like using televised masses in a closed-circuited fashion within the same building for the benefit of overflow crowds. For example, the televised funeral mass of Rev. James Maher at St. Mary’s church in Chardon, Massachusetts in 1955 was broadcast to televisions in the rectory and church basement to accommodate overflow crowds.[30]

Televised masses quickly became a regular fixture of Catholic life, with many dioceses offering monthly and weekly broadcasts.  In June 1951 the cathedral in Boston began offering monthly televised Sunday masses. Later that year the cathedral in Los Angeles did the same, with approximately 750,000 viewers during the first three months.[31] 

The cathedral in Chicago averaged two or three televised solemn pontifical masses each year between 1948 and 1953. In 1953 Archbishop of Boston Richard Cushing offered series of five-weekly televised masses from St. Clements Eucharistic Shrine, which proved so popular that he decided to establish a permanent weekly televised mass for the archdiocese. Just a month later, he announced plans for the world’s first-ever Catholic TV studio to accomplish that purpose.[32]

Fig. 12 – Archbishop Richard Cushing of Boston celebrates mass in the Archdiocesan Television Centre. From the cover of RCA Broadcast News, Vol 90, August 1956.

In January 1955, Archdiocesan Television Centre opened at 25 Granby Street in Boston. It was a cutting-edge television and production studio which featured weekly commentated Sunday masses and a wide variety of Catholic content broadcast on WNAC-TV. In addition to standard Sunday and feast day masses, the television center offered viewers regular access to a wide variety of rare or interesting liturgical experiences, including First Communion masses, mass by the Archbishop of Nagasaki, Japan (in the United States to raise money for rebuilding a church destroyed by the atomic bombing), Eastern Catholic masses like a Byzantine Slavonic Rite liturgy, and other Western Catholic traditions like the Dominican Rite.[33]

1955 was a landmark year for other similar professional and regular television efforts. In the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Rev. Hugh Michael Beahan began offering weekly televised masses from a chapel studio at WOOD TV. Beahan (who also had a notable ‘side job’ as a disk jockey, which occasioned an appearance on What’s My Line) served as the producer, director, and commentator for the televised masses.[34]

Fig. 13 – Rev. Hugh Michael Beahan in the control room of the WOOD TV studio (Image source).

As the 1950s drew to a close, regular weekly televised masses were offered by more and more dioceses. By 1958, for example, the Passionists in West Springfield, Massachusetts were running a weekly televised mass out of Station WWLP and the Archdiocese of Hartford had established a diocesan Office of Radio and Television and was offering regular masses via Station WHCT.[35]

Fig. 14 – At left, a cry room sign. At right, a cry room in St. Anthony church in Edmonton, Canada, circa 1950.  (Image source left and right).

As the liturgy became more and more dominated by electronic sound amplification and regular radio and televised broadcasts, a novel trend emerged: churches built with separate rooms for mothers with babies and young children, isolated but equipped with speakers which were fed by the microphones. These rooms, which would become known as “cry rooms,” were designed to help the congregation focus on the words of the priest, now amplified via microphones and speakers, by isolating noisy or crying children in a room separated from the rest of the church.

The trend of widespread use of microphones directly contributed to the development of the cry room, and also made them logistically possible for the first time. Without a microphone-filled sanctuary there is no pressing need to try and remove all possible distracting noises from the church. Conversely, it would be ludicrous to ask parents with children to sit removed from the congregation without microphones and speakers to bring the sounds of the liturgy into the isolated cry room. By the 1950s, cry rooms were nearly ubiquitous and included in many new churches built in America.

The first cry rooms began to appear much earlier than is commonly thought. In 1929, the US Bishops’ New Service ran a front-page story about a remarkable innovation: a “mother’s room” built in the choir loft of the small rural church of St. William in Paoli, Wisconsin. The room contained benches, rockers and a cradle for the use of mothers, and was also specifically designed to reduce the noise of the children in the rest of the church. It was deemed a “marked success.”[36]

Fig. 15 – At left, a photo of St. William church in Paoli, Wisconsin via Google maps. At right, the NCWC news story on the St. William “mothers’ room.”

In 1941, Corpus Christ parish in St. Paul, Minnesota installed a “sound-proof, cry-proof” room which was “specifically for the convenience of women with crying babies.” This trend accelerated with newly-built churches towards the end of the decade. Examples include: St. Patrick church in Rolla, Missouri in 1947; St. Gabriel church in St. Louis Missouri in 1949; the new (unnamed) church for the fifth Catholic parish in Kankakee, Illinois in 1949;  St. Joseph church in Green Ridge, Pennsylvania in 1949; and St. Joseph church in Rayne, Louisiana in 1950. [37]

At least initially, the primary purpose of cry rooms was officially purported to be for the benefit of the mothers themselves, and only secondarily reducing the noise for the other worshippers. The Kankakee church, for instance, stated the purpose was (emphasis added) “to enable mothers to sit through church services with small children without missing active participation…”[38]

In 1954, a prominent female member of the Liturgical Movement, Ade Bethune, criticized cry rooms as “gloomy institution[s]” if they were placed at the back of a church and “banished” mothers “far from the altar.” But she praised churches where cry rooms were placed directly next to the sanctuary (using the example of a soundproof Marian chapel with a large window which looked directly upon the main altar from the side) and said this feature demonstrated parishes where motherhood was “exalted and given a place of honor”.[39]

It must be frankly admitted that “exalting and honoring” motherhood did not always seem to be the goal of these cry rooms, even when they were placed directly next to the sanctuary. When celebrating the dedication of St. Gertrude church in Stockton, California, for example, the diocesan newspaper wrote (emphasis added): “A ‘crying room’ to the right of the sanctuary gives mothers a closeup view of Mass while muffling their noisy offspring.”[40]

Fig. 16 – Photos of the innovative St. Francis Xavier church in Kansas City, Missouri, designed by Liturgical Movement architect Barry Byrne in 1949. In addition to other interesting modern features, the church included a cry room. (Image source)

With the dawn of the 1950s, cry rooms became a standard feature in most new churches built in America. Between 1950 and 1956 in St. Louis alone, at least 14 new churches were built which contained a cry room. Between 1955 and 1958 in Newark, at least 8 new churches with cry rooms were built. There are numerous other examples throughout the country to be found during these years, with new churches built in in Kansas City (including the innovative fish-shaped St. Francis Xavier), Dallas, Philadelphia, Hartford, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. [41]

Electronic amplification, radio broadcasts, and televised broadcasts of the mass were regular and popular practices throughout much of the Catholic world (and particularly in America) much earlier than commonly thought. Starting as an extraordinarily popular trend in the 1940s for special events and large celebrations, by the mid-1950s dioceses throughout the nation were offering regular weekly televised masses.

The trend of widespread use of electronic amplification directly contributed to the development of the cry room, and also made them logistically possible first time. Without a microphone-filled sanctuary there is no pressing need to try and remove all possible distracting noises from the church; conversely, it would be ludicrous to ask parents with children to sit removed from the congregation without microphones and speakers to bring the sounds of the liturgy into the isolated cry room. Thus, by 1958, the cry room was a widespread and permanent part of the liturgical experience of the laity in America.

The history of these trends paints a more complex and interesting picture of the state of Catholic worship in the decades immediately preceding the Second Vatican Council. Much more was heard of the priest’s portions of the mass – via electronic amplification – than previously thought. The laity experienced a wide range of modern innovations aimed at assisting their understanding and participation in the liturgy.

All of this set the stage for the developments called for by Pope Pius XII in his Instruction on Sacred Music in September 1958, allowing for immediate implementation of the participatory Latin “Dialogue Mass” and “commentators” who provided vernacular translations and ongoing explanatory commentary via microphone. This in turn prepared the way for the post-conciliar liturgical changes which began in 1964 and relied heavily on the complete and continual electronic amplification of the entire mass to permit the laity’s active participation.

[1] George Ryan, “Did You Know? The First Mass on Television Was a Christmas Midnight Mass in 1948,” uCatholic blog (2019).

[2] “Mass was televised in 1946 in California,” The St. Louis Register, January 2, 1948. Page 7; see also “Back seat for Philadelphia: Los Angeles takes credit for first televised mass,” The Tidings, December 26, 1947. Page 2.

It makes a great deal of sense that the first televised masses would spring from the Hollywood scene. It is also interesting to note that, before televised masses, there was also an earlier trend of filming masses for viewing in news reels and movie theaters, like the 1941 full-length movie of a solemn high mass which was filmed at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Chicago.

[3] “Will Be Broadcast,” The St. Louis Register, May 30, 1947. Page 3.

[4] “Centennial of famous parish observed,” The St. Louis Register, November 14, 1947. Page 1.

[5] “First Masses ever televised sun in Philadelphia, Detroit.” The St. Louis Register, December 26, 1947. Front page of Section Two.

[6] “Solemn Easter Mass at Cathedral to be Televised 1st Time.” The St. Louis Register, March 26, 1948. Page 1; “Televised this Sunday from Cathedral.” The Catholic Standard and Times, November 19, 1948. Page 1; “Christmas Masses in Two Cities to be Televised.” NCWC News Service, December 22, 1948. Wire copy page 3; “Christmas Masses Televised.” Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News, January 1, 1949. Page 24; “St. Patrick’s midnight mass televised by three networks.” NCWC News Service, December 29, 1948. Wire copy page 2.

[7] “Evening mass is being televised – Card. Spellman opens French program.” The Catholic Advance, November 4, 1949. Page 7; “Pope may get television set [sic, the article says “transmitter”].” The Argus, August 18, 1949. Page 4.

[8] “Abp. Cushing hopes daily masses will be televised soon.” The Boston Globe, February 8, 1949. Page 28.

[9] Thomas Lester, “Christmas eve 1949 – the first televised mass in Boston.” The Boston Pilot, December 25, 2015.

[10] Other examples of televised Easter masses include: the cathedrals in Cincinnati, Chicago, and Rochester in 1953 and from Hartford 1958. Examples of televised Christmas masses include: from the cathedral in New Orleans in 1950; at Dowd Memorial Chapel in Boys Town by the Archbishop of Omaha in 1951; at the cathedral in San Diego in 1952 and 1953; at the cathedral in Los Angeles in 1954, 1955, and 1956; and at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in New York City in 1957.

In 1952, televised pontifical midnight mass from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York was attended by 2,000 people in the pews, 3,000 standing in the aisles, and an additional 3,000 overflow into streets surrounding the building.

[11] “The Catholic Dial – Consecration on TV.” The Catholic Standard and Times, February 25, 1949. Page 10; “The Catholic Dial – Highlights for Week.” The Catholic Standard and Times, March 14, 1952. Page 5; “Consecration of two bishops in Buffalo See.” The Catholic Standard and Times, September 26, 1952. Front Page.

[12] “Pope, Cardinals, President mourn death of Archbishop McNicholas.” The St. Louis Register, May 5, 1950. Page 3.

[13] “Newark’s Archbishop Walsh dies at 78: Papal delegate will pontificate at funeral.” NCWC News Service, June 9, 1952. Wire copy page 1.

[14] “Catholic bishop plans television of sacraments.” The Journal, May 14, 1952. Page 2.

[15] “First nuptial mass on TV celebrated by Archbishop Cushing.” NCWC News Service, August 25, 1952. Wire copy page 6.

[16] “Archbishop’s Christmas lesson for TV audience: ‘Patience with all that is less than God.’” NCWC News Service, December 29, 1952. Wire copy page 4; “Ordination rites on TV first time in Boston.” NCWC News Service, February 2, 1953. Wire copy page 12; “First telecast of ordination of order priests.” NCWC News Service, December 20, 1954. Wire copy page 6.

[17] For more on the televised baptism, or the English Collectio Rituum, see Nico Fassino (2022), “Forgotten English Rituals: The Collectio Rituum of 1954 and the untold history of the vernacular administration of the sacraments.”

[18] “British Centennial climax marred by illness of legate; 100,000 at final ceremony.” NCWC News Service, October 2, 1950. Wire copy page 4.

[19] “Mass to be televised in Britain for first time.” NCWC News Service, July 14, 1952. Wire copy page 11.

[20] “Order inquiry into Scottish ‘black out’ of televised mass relayed from Paris by BBC.” NCWC News Service, August 4, 1952. Wire copy page 5; “Protestant protests fail to halt first [sic] televising of Catholic mass in Britain.” NCWC News Service, January 11, 1954. Wire copy page 7.

[21] “First Televised mass in Germany.” The Advocate, February 26, 1953. Page 17.

[22] “First Christmas Mass televised from one of Rome’s oldest churches.” NCWC News Service, December 21, 1953. Wire copy page 4.

[23] “The Editor’s Notes.” The Catholic Standard and Times, February 19, 1954. Page 6.

[24] “Arguments for and against televising mass offered at Catholic conference.” NCWC News Service, February 22, 1954. Wire copy page 4. A more detailed introduction to the history of UNDA and other Catholic television organizations can be found here.

[25] “Viewers in 7 West Europe countries see midnight mass televised from Notre Dame in Paris.” NCWC News Service, December 27, 1954. Wire copy page 1.

[26] “Televised masses mark Christmas in Britain.” NCWC News Service, December 27, 1954. Wire copy page 2.

[27] “Catholics to offer prayers Friday for Pope Pius.” Wisconsin State Journal, March 1, 1956. Page 19.

[28] “Big congregations for Christmas Services.” The Age, December 26, 1956. Page 2.

[29] “WPTZ to televise mass noting centenary of St. Joseph’s College.” The Catholic Standard and Times, October 26, 1951. Page 1; “WPTZ to televise entire St. Patrick’s Day mass.” The Catholic Standard and Times, March 9, 1951. Page 4; “Archbishop bids farewell to Buffalo.” NCWC News Service, January 7, 1952. Wire copy page 13; “St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Parish observers its centenary.” The Catholic Standard and Times, October 24, 1952. Page 4; “New York set owners get rare treat as Red Mass is televised.” NCWC News Service, November 3, 1952. Wire copy page 8; “Pope and president hail youth week: interest widespread.” NCWC News Service, October 12, 1953. Wire copy page 2; “San Francisco Archdiocese to observe its centennial.” Oakland Tribune, September 6, 1953, Page 31; “Jubilee observed by Reading parish.” The Catholic Standard and Times, October 8, 1954. Page 1; “Newark’s Archbishop invested with pallium in new cathedral.” The Catholic Standard and Times, October 22, 1954. Page 1; “Televised mass.” Pottsville Republican, March 16, 1957. Page 3.

[30] “Funeral televised.” The Tidings, March 25, 1955. Page 17.

[31] “1700 in chant at Cathedral; TV masses planned.” The Boston Globe, May 4, 1951. Page 1; “TV mass viewed by 750,000.” The Tidings, November 30, 1951. Page 10.

[32] “Another first on television: pontifical mass across nation.” The Catholic Standard and Times, March 20, 1953. Page 14; “Archbishop may continue weekly televised masses.” The Boston Globe, April 4, 1953. Page 11; “1st ‘Television Chapel’ to be built in Boston.” The St. Louis Register, May 1, 1953. Page 16.

[33] “Mass for shut-ins series opens in fully-equipped TV chapel.” NCWC News Service, January 10, 1955. Wire copy page 8; “Bishop of Nagasaki to say mass on TV.” The Boston Globe, September 17, 1955. Page 11; “Fr. Koval celebrant for televised mass.” Standard Sentinel, October 15, 1955; “Sunday services, events of the week.” The Boston Globe, April 16, 1955.

[34] Diocese of Grand Rapids, “Diocese marks 60 years of providing live, televised Sunday Mass.”

[35] “Bishop Flanagan to celebrate TV mass.” The Catholic Transcript, March 13, 1958. Page 6; “Channel 18 to have mass this Sunday.” The Catholic Transcript, July 17, 1958. Page 14.

[36] “’Mothers’ Room’ in St. William’s Church, Paili, Wis.” The NCWC News Sheet, December 16, 1929. Front page.

[37] “St. Paul church builds room for ‘Cry Babies’.” The St. Louis Register, March 7, 1941. Page 5; “New church in Rolla to be dedicated by Archbishop March 9.” The St. Louis Register, March 7, 1947. Page 1; “Built-in ‘crying room’ is new church feature.” NCWC News Service, August 29, 1949. Wire copy page 4; “Church building fund drive opens at St. Gabriel’s Nov. 13.” The St. Louis Register, November 11, 1949. Page 1; “Dedication to be held on Sunday.” The Catholic Standard and Times, November 4, 1949. Front page; “Cry Room’ with window provided mothers with babies attending mass.” NCWC News Service, June 12, 1950. Wire copy page 8.

[38] “Built-in ‘crying room’ is new church feature.” NCWC News Service, August 29, 1949. Wire copy page 4.

[39] “Artist wants place of honor for baptistry, no more ‘warts’ in wall.” NCWC News Service, July 19, 1954. Wire copy page 3.

[40] “Bless Stockton church, mission.” The Monitor, November 21, 1958. Page 4.

[41] These numbers were sourced from diocesan newspaper accounts of church construction. To avoid an extraordinarily tedious footnote, for the sake of both reader and author, I have elected to simply summarize with this comment rather than provide a list of 33 newspaper distinct citations.

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