Magazine

Click on the image below to read the third issue of Gulf Coast Catholic Magazine that was mailed into homes in February of 2024. Click here to view prior magazines.

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In September of 2023, the Diocese of St. Petersburg launched a new diocesan magazine to evangelize, inspire, and unite our community. The mission of Gulf Coast Catholic Magazine is to bring people throughout the Diocese closer to Christ and His Church so we can Courageously Live the Gospel.   Click here to read a letter from Bishop Parkes to the faithful, introducing this exciting new initiative. Below are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about the magazine. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Gulf Coast Catholic Magazine

Why is the Diocese launching a new magazine? A magazine is a communications tool that can help us inspire, educate, and unite the Catholic community in the Diocese of St. Petersburg.  Gulf Coast Catholic will be the official magazine of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, a trusted and credible source of information. 

Each issue will contain advice for Catholic living, inspirational articles, messages about the Catholic faith, and ideas for enhancing your prayer life. These articles will help you, even if you are struggling with faith, to stay anchored in Jesus Christ on Sundays and throughout the week.

Who will receive Gulf Coast Catholic Magazine and will there be a subscription cost? The Diocese of St. Petersburg will send a magazine to all registered households four times a year. Currently, we have approximately 100,000 registered households in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties. This magazine will be free of charge, no subscription is required. 

What is the mission of Gulf Coast Catholic? Our mission is to bring people in the Diocese of St. Petersburg closer to Jesus and His Church so we can Courageously Live the Gospel. 

How will the magazine be funded? The funding model has three main components. First, parishes and schools have been invited to partner with us on this mission. We asked each parish to contribute one dollar for every household that is registered in their community. We also asked each school to make an annual investment of $500 to stand in solidarity with this effort to strengthen the faith of our Catholic community. In return, all of our parish and school partners were listed on our “Founding Partners” page. Also, we are asking businesses and ministries to partner with us by advertising in our publication. (View our media kit here.) To learn about advertising opportunities, contact: advertise@dosp.org. Advertisers will benefit by reaching our Catholic population with announcements about products, services and events that readers may find helpful. We will also be funded by an annual reader appeal that will give faithful Catholics an opportunity to support this ministry of evangelization and discipleship. We also hope to obtain evangelization grants in support of this ministry. 

What will happen to GulfCoastCatholic.org and the Wednesday Wave? The website will continue to be updated each week with interesting and relevant content about Catholic life and stories of transformation and hope. The Wednesday Wave e-newsletter will continue to be e-mailed. However, instead of a weekly email, it will be sent out every other week. The articles can easily be shared on social media and forwarded to others who can benefit from the content. 

How will this magazine reach young people who are online frequently? According to the Magazine Media Factbook (2022), 88% of U.S. adults read a magazine in the last six months, including 88% of adults under 25. This suggests that Gulf Coast Catholic could be appealing to young people. Also, interesting to note is that research shows that magazines are more trustworthy, inspiring, and fulfilling than websites or TV. Also, we have an e-version of the magazine. Click here to view the premier issue. We have this website that can be accessed by young people (and everyone) and the e-newsletter that can be received via email or text message. We also started @GulfCoastCatholic on Instagram in September of 2023. 

How much content will be local and how much will come from national/international sources? We are partnering with Faith Catholic, the largest publisher of Catholic magazines in the country. However, we maintain full local control of the content and local stories will be a priority. We are excited to share local stories that highlight how God is touching the lives of people in our community. There will also be stories that highlight the universal Church and how Pope Francis and Bishop Gregory Parkes, and other faith leaders are proclaiming the Gospel in their lives and ministries. We will also feature columns written by national experts on parenting, relationships, marriage and theology. 

Will there be content in Spanish available in the magazine or online? As of now, all of the articles in the magazine will be translated and available online at https://gulfcoastcatholic.org/en-espanol. We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of having a Spanish e-publication and Spanish content in the magazine and will make decisions accordingly. 

If you have questions about Gulf Coast Catholic magazine, please contact Teresa Peterson, Executive Director of Communications, Diocese of St. Petersburg, tlp@dosp.org