author
John Francis
b. 1875
A force in early American Catholic publishing, this Indiana priest used print to reach ordinary readers on a huge scale. He is best remembered for founding Our Sunday Visitor and for pairing church leadership with a strong public writing career.
1 Audiobook
The Triumph of Virginia Dale
by John Francis
About the author
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on January 25, 1875, John Francis Noll became a Roman Catholic priest and later served as bishop of Fort Wayne from 1925 until his death in 1956. He was widely known not only as a church leader but also as a communicator who believed publishing could bring religious teaching to a broad audience.
In 1912, he founded Our Sunday Visitor, a Catholic newspaper that grew into an influential publishing effort in the United States. That work helped make him a notable author and editor as well as a religious figure, especially for readers interested in Catholic instruction and popular apologetics.
Noll died on July 31, 1956. Reliable image sources found in this search showed heraldic images rather than a clear photographic portrait, so no confirmed portrait image is included here.