Francis Pharcellus Church

author

Francis Pharcellus Church

1839–1906

Best known as the writer behind the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial, this American journalist helped create one of the most enduring newspaper pieces in U.S. culture. He spent much of his career at the New York Sun, where his calm, thoughtful style made a lasting mark.

1 Audiobook

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

by Francis Pharcellus Church

About the author

Born in Rochester, New York, in 1839, Francis Pharcellus Church became an American journalist, editor, and publisher whose work reached millions of readers in the late 19th century. He studied at Columbia College and served briefly in journalism before building a long career in New York newspapers.

Church is most widely remembered for writing the 1897 New York Sun editorial later known as "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." Written in reply to a letter from a young girl, the piece became famous for its warm defense of faith, hope, and imagination, and it remains one of the best-known newspaper editorials ever published.

Beyond that single work, Church spent many years at the New York Sun and was part of a family deeply involved in publishing; he also worked with his brother William Conant Church, a prominent journalist and co-founder of The Army and Navy Journal. Although one short editorial made him immortal, his larger career was rooted in the fast-growing world of American newspapers during a transformative era.