Lou Baldwin, Philadelphia Catholic journalist, retires at age 69

Published: 2004-06-11

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Lou Baldwin was 50 years old and "between jobs" when he was hired by The Catholic Standard & Times, Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper, in 1985. Nineteen years and "thousands of stories" later, Baldwin wrote his final article as a full-time staff member for the newspaper's June 3 issue. At 69, he is retiring, although he plans to continue writing on a freelance basis. His final story, in the first person, looked back on a career that took Baldwin around the world and to the most hidden pockets of his own community. He traveled to Israel and Jordan, Italy and the Vatican, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico for the newspaper, and wrote stories from England and France during his personal travels. But perhaps Baldwin's best-known stories came from a week he spent anonymously on the streets of Philadelphia in 1995. "Take it from me, folks on the street really aren't different from the rest of us," he wrote in 2004. "They are good people generally, just unfortunate."

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