The Universe is a weekly newspaper for Roman Catholics in Great Britain and Ireland, published in Berliner format by the Universe Media Group from its offices based at the Guardian Print Centre, Trafford Park in Manchester, England.
History
Founded in 1860, Archibald Dunn was the first Editor and SVP member, Denis Lane, the printer. The first copies of The Universe were published on Saturday, December 8, 1860 – at a cover price of one penny – from 43 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC. The front page announced that “a cheap Catholic newspaper is required – if only to stay the circulation of anti-Catholic weekly newspapers among Catholic families resident in London”.
By selling the paper for just one penny a copy, The Universe said it hoped to be a weekly paper “within the reach of all classes”. The Tablet, by comparison, cost 6d.
By 1910, The Universe was giving news from all over the country, not just from London, and had started to produce photographs, mainly portraits of people mentioned in stories. It had by then also changed its address to 1 Racquet Court, Fleet Street, London EC.
Fifty years later, on Thursday 8th December, 1960, The Universe, “The Catholic Family Newspaper”, celebrated its centenary with a special front colour issue, carrying portraits of two Popes, Pope Pius IX (1860) and the much-loved Pope John XXIII, a flashback to the first front page and a fine drawing of St Peter’s, Rome. The cover price had increased to 4d and The Universe’s address was now Universe House, 21 Fleet Street. This edition sold 300,000 copies.
On Friday 6th December 1985, The Universe celebrated its 125th anniversary. The price per copy had risen to 30p and the address was 33-39 Bowling Green Lane, London.
On 7th October 1990, The Universe relocated to Manchester. It was a momentous occasion, not only in moving from Bowling Green Lane to Oxford Street, Manchester, but also in switching from contract typesetters to desktop publishing using Apple Mac computers.
In April 2015, the paper moved its entire operation to the Guardian Print Centre in Manchester, where The Catholic Universe moved from a tabloid to the Guardian‘s larger, and very modern, Berliner format. New sections were launched, including a weekly Around the Parishes supplement and a Weekend Companion pullout of family-centred non-religious news and features.
The newspaper's editor (since 1995) is Joseph Kelly, who is also the CEO and Managing Editor of The Universe's parent company, The Universe Media Group Ltd.
The Universe Media Group also publishes The Catholic Times (a weekly broadsheet), The Catholic Directory of England & Wales, The Catholic Who's Who, Church Building, Novena, Vatican: Past and Present, From the Catholic Archives and other third party Catholic titles. In 2010 it was the official publisher and distributor for a number of UK papal visit publications and resources, including Heart to Heart, Welcome Pope Benedict, and the Official Magnificat Papal Mass.