Communication across the Archdiocese was not simple in early days. Letters were carried by foot, horse, boat and train, often reaching recipients months after they were initially composed. It is estimated that Most Rev. Vital Grandin, the first Bishop of St. Albert, walked about 25,000 miles in snowshoes during his ministry.

As new technology was invented, church leaders recognized the influence of radio, a new medium rapidly growing in popularity. Easter 1926 marked the first broadcast of the Cathedral’s Sunday High Mass. The mass was then heard on the first Sunday of each month for the next ten years. CFRN and CHCA aired the Catholic Truth Broadcast for 27 years until 1963. The program offered a variety of features including commentary on Bible reading and religious news digest.

Unidentified priest in front of steam-powered train, ca. 1910.
Archdiocese Archives Photograph Collection ARCAE PA-3-0453.

One of Archbishop O’Leary’s first major acts during his episcopate was to establish The Western Catholic, an Archdiocesan newspaper. Its mandate called for the weekly to report on religious news and to assist people to better understand the teaching of the Church. Inspired by the Second Vatican Council, Archbishop Jordan in 1965 created the Western Catholic Reporter (WCR), a newspaper with a unique mission of serving the Catholic community through high-quality journalism, to replace the Western Catholic. Editor Douglas J. Roche and other Archdiocesan leaders saw a need to give Catholics deeper insights into the Council. The result was Vatican II and You, 13 public lectures given by experts and published in the WCR.

The 20^th century's rapid developments in technology began to change the way the Church communicated with the faithful. Both Rev. Spicer and Rev. Fitzgerald gave the Church a voice in the media. The Adult Learning Commission, established in 1968, offered a weekly TV series on the Gospels of Mark, John and Luke. The Communications Centre produced religious videos and TV shows, including Living Today, a half-hour weekly program on ITV that was viewed across Canada, and Open Window, a 13 week series on Third World poverty and other issues, was aired on the Provincial Education Channel.

Today the Archdiocese uses websites, social media, live webcasting and videoconferencing to bridge the distances among the faithful. With the rise of the Internet and the resulting shift to online news, the WCR launched an online presence in 1996. The print publication was reaching more than 6,500 readers when it closed in 2016, in favour of a greater focus on digital news. The Archdiocese is currently developing a news portal website to deepen our understanding and to share our faith with the world, especially in our engagement with the wider society.