By Michael Motes

If there lives today a walking encyclopedia on the Catholic press, and particularly this very special type of news media in the state of Georgia, it is John E. Markwalter.

John has the unique distinction of being associated with both The Georgia Bulletin and The Southern Cross, the two Catholic newspapers in Georgia, as well as The Catholic Banner, official weekly publication of the Diocese of Charleston.

How does one man represent three newspapers? The story dates back a number of years to an agreement between the Georgia and South Carolina dioceses to share certain expenses in publishing a newspaper of the Catholic population of the two states.

And it is John who is responsible for the final product delivered throughout the two states.

Officially, John has two titles with the three newspapers: Managing Editor of both The Bulletin and The Banner and Editor of The Cross.

At the office of publication for all three papers in Waynesboro, about 30 miles south of Augusta, John oversees the operation from start to finish. He and his assistant, Linda Wilson, devote Tuesday and Wednesday of each week to The Bulletin and have similar schedules for the other two publications.

All news copy is edited in The Bulletin office in Atlanta, and on Monday sent via Greyhound bus to Waynesboro. Layout sheets indicate how we want our finished product to look, and John makes sure that we get what we want!

But "our man in Waynesboro" does not end his day working on The Bulletin in Waynesboro. To assure the accuracy of the typesetters, John carries the final "paste up" boards home with him to Augusta and reads them far into the night. (A recent change in the date of printing due to a holiday found John still reading Bulletin copy at 4 a.m.!)

John is a perfectionist regarding the appearance of what will be delivered to Catholic homes. He personally observes each run as the delicate color process begins. Once he feels the color is right, the actual "press run" can begin.

Even with the most careful scrutiny, errors can occur and John checks The Bulletin as it is being printed. Should he find a major error in an important story, he will have the presses stopped, oversee correction of the error and begin the entire process anew. A perfectionist!

John began his career with the Catholic Press in Georgia while still in school at old Boy's Catholic, now Aquinas High School in Augusta. That was in 1946, and he has been with it ever since, with the exception of a two-year hitch with Uncle Sam as a sergeant in the Army from 1950 to 1952.

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, he served as an office boy at the office of the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia. The Bulletin issued by the Association was the forerunner of the two diocesan newspapers found in the state today.

(Office boys can go far, John recalls. A former office boy who worked for the Laymen's is now Father Jerry Hardy, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.)

In 1948, John joined the paper full time as a bookkeeper. The late Hugh Kinchley served as Bulletin editor at the time. Upon Kinchley's death in 1953, John was named managing editor.

In 1969, the newspapers of Atlanta, Savannah and Charleston began the joint printing venture at the Chalker Publishing Company in Waynesboro, and John was put in charge of the final product for all dioceses. He had earlier been an editor of The Bulletin before the Archdiocese of Atlanta was established and the state had only the one Catholic newspaper.

A parishioner of Saint Mary's-on-the-Hill in Augusta, John has been actively involved in numerous parish activities. In addition to serving the Church locally through his parish and state-wide through the newspapers, he held the position of Executive Secretary of the Catholic Laymen's Association from 1953 to 1962.

John's work for the Church earned for him the papal honor Knight of Saint Gregory in 1974. At that time Bishop Raymond Lessard of Savannah wrote to him, "It is with great pleasure that I inform you that, in view of the 25 years of service which you have rendered in the field of Catholic Journalism in our area of the United States, His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, has conferred upon you the Knighthood of Saint Gregory."

Bishop Ernest Unterkoefler of Charleston delivered the homily at John's investiture and praised John as a gentleman of deep Catholic commitment to God, his Church, family and community.

"John has seen Catholic newspapers improve; he has shared in developing a Christian professionalism in the diocesan paper. Beginning with The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia, he shared in laying the foundation of newspapers of high quality in the southeast."

This "foundation" praised by Bishop Unterkoefler continues today with John at the helm.

In his job as editor of The Southern Cross, John maintains an office in Savannah where he edits all news for that diocese and keeps in close contact with Bishop Lessard, publisher of the newspaper.

John is married to the former Louise Chafee D'Antignac of Augusta and the father of Katherine, William and Tony.

He emphasizes that he is a "newspaper man" as opposed to a "journalist."

"A journalist writes, but a newspaper man must do everything," he says.

And "everything" is what John does for the three Catholic newspapers fortunate enough to have him on hand to oversee publication; answer numerous questions of topics ranging from the effect of postal increases to the merit of a syndicated Catholic newspaper columnist; proofread pages until the wee hours.

A modest man, John has commented that the high honor he received from the Pope for his outstanding work with newspapers was "only a pat on the back."

"Every one needs a pat on the back from time to time," John says.

But how many "newspaper men" get a pat on the back from the Holy Father?