Renewal
For many years, la Croix appeared in two formats. The first was a small-format periodical aimed at popular readership, the second a large-format newspaper aimed at a more intellectual audience. In 1927, Father Leon Merklen having become editor in chief, la Croix began to address social problems. This was led to the initiative founding Catholic Action and also helped to create a formal link between the Catholic working youth and the French Roman Catholic Church.
During the Second World War La Croix moved its editorial offices first to Bordeaux, then to Limoges. The paper was shut down comparatively late in the occupation, on 21 June 1944. It would not reappear until February 1945. Father Gabel oversaw the relaunch of the paper. Editor in chief from 1949, he introduced new sections, such as sports, cinema, fashion, and theatre. On 1 February 1956, La Croix began to appear for the first time without a crucifix as a part of its header. In March 1968, the newspaper adopted a tabloid format.
In January 1972, the newspaper changed its name to la Croix-l’Événement ("the Cross-the Event"). The choice of the new title was a reflection of the editorship's desire to show that the paper was not just a religious paper, but a regular daily, reflective of modern society. The paper has a very loyal readership, as expressed by the fact that 87% of its sales are by subscription, but its low ad-space and the high cost of distribution still mean the paper run at a deficit, which is covered by the other publications of Bayard Presse such as the magazine Le Pèlerin and a number of children's titles.
Read more about this topic: La Croix
Famous quotes containing the word renewal:
“We sing the funeral, as goes the custom, with the hymn of the Dead. But Manuel, he chose a hymn for the living: the song of the coumbite, the song of the earth, of the water, the plants, of fellowship between peasants because he wanted, as I now understand it, that his death for you be the renewal of life.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“Every epoch which seeks renewal first projects its ideal into a human form. In order to comprehend its own essence tangibly, the spirit of the time chooses a human being as its prototype and raising this single individual, often one upon whom it has chanced to come, far beyond his measure, the spirit enthuses itself for its own enthusiasm.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“My hope is ... that we may recover ... something of a renewal of that vision of the law with which men may be supposed to have started out with in the old days of the oracles, who communed with the intimations of divinity.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)