In 1866, a small newspaper called The Northwestern Chronicle began to be published by John Crosby Devereux in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

While not originally an official Catholic newspaper, it received the support of Bishop Thomas Grace, who used it to communicate to the clergy.

However, facing financial difficulties a decade after its founding, Devereux sold the Chronicle to coadjutor bishop of Saint Paul John Ireland for $2,000 ($57,225 in 2023).

The Chronicle under Bishop Ireland did not recover from its financial difficulties, incurring debts which he covered personally, and in 1900 he sold it to the Catholic Citizen newspaper in Milwaukee.

[6] Ireland insisted that the paper not be laudatory of his person and that it be non-political and non-controversial; he simply wanted an "interesting, well-written and well-edited Catholic newspaper".

[3]: 396  Due to Ireland's connections, the Bulletin had scoops on the erection of the Diocese of Spokane and the election of Benedict XV, publishing the stories before any other American newspapers.

Volz served until 1925, when a layman, Bernard Vaughn, was named editor; he held the job until 1957, when he suffered a heart attack.

At one point in the 1960s, a priest cancelled 1,600 of his parishioners' subscriptions over a front-page photo of nuns dancing; in response, Casserly remarked that he considered it important to cover what was going on in the Church.