In its first edition, Bishop Fenwick wrote that the newspaper's purpose was to defend against the "crying calumnies and gross misrepresentations which in this section of the country have been so long, so unsparingly, so cruelly heaped upon the Church.

"[1] In 1834, Fenwick sold the publication to two laymen—Henry Devereux, the publisher, and Patrick Donahoe, an employee who quickly became the newspaper's sole proprietor.

Notable editors linked to the movement for Irish independence include John Boyle O'Reilly, James Jeffrey Roche and Thomas D'Arcy McGee.

[1] Archbishop William Henry O'Connell purchased the paper in 1908 and turned it into the official voice of Boston's archdiocese.

He closely monitored its editorial policies and sought to promote its readership among local Catholic families.