After almost two decades of sharing the stories of the people, places, programs and events of the Diocese of Metuchen, Christopher Donahue has decided to end the story of his work on “The Catholic Spirit,” the diocese’s official newspaper. Before joining “The Catholic Spirit” in 2003 as a staff writer, Donahue thought writing for a diocesan newspaper would not be as challenging or rewarding as the work he had been doing.
A few years after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Journalism at the University of Delaware, Newark, in 1979, Donahue began working as a sports reporter at “The News Journal,” Wilmington, Del. Eventually, he became the beat writer for the Philadelphia Flyers for nine years. It was a challenging and exciting time in his career. He then spent five years as a news reporter for the Wilmington paper before joining “The Newark Post” (Del.) where he was the sports editor for a year.
In 2000, he and his wife, Cathryn, were married at her family’s church, Holy Cross in Rumson. When he could not find a job in sports writing, he accepted a position on the news copy desk at the “Courier-News,” Bridgewater where he went on to work as a news reporter.
Although Donahue received two awards while working for the “Courier-News,” three years after starting there he decided to change the course of his career. He and his wife, Cathryn, prayed to St. Joseph to help him decide what he should do. He knew he wanted to stay in journalism.
“I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a writer,” Donahue said. “I always asked a lot of questions, which probably drove my mom crazy.” He remembers his childhood home as one where numerous magazines, two daily newspapers and the diocesan newspaper were in arm’s reach. They were an integral part of his development, he said, because the more you read, the more you learn things such as how to spell, proper grammar, and the rhythm of the English language.
It also helped that his mother, Marie, who was an English major at Regis College, Weston, Mass., not only fostered the family’s love of reading, but spoke properly.
“It is like learning to play the piano,” he added. “How can you learn if you don’t practice?
“I remember when I was in a journalism class, a graduate of the university’s journalism program who was to a reporter for the ‘New York Times’ came to speak. One of the things he stressed was: read everything and anything you can no matter where you are to learn the language. I always tried to follow that advice.”
While living in Delaware, Donahue had written several stories as a freelancer for the diocese’s newspaper, “The Dialog.” They opened a window into a world familiar to him because of his faith and he enjoyed the positive, uplifting people and topics he wrote about.
The Donahues’ prayers were answered two weeks after they turned to St. Joseph, seeking his intercession for guidance.
“I saw ‘The Catholic Spirit’s’ want ad for a reporter in its paper,” recalled Donahue. He applied and on Sept. 12, 2003, began his longest and what would become his last position before retiring this December.
Six years after joining ‘The Catholic Spirit’s” staff, Donahue received his first award: third place, from the Catholic Press Association for his page one story about the funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Milltown, for Army Corporal Steven R. Koch, who died fighting in Afghanistan.
During his first 10 years as a staff reporter, Donahue continued to hone his journalism skills and learned many lessons from the stories he wrote.
“One story that stayed with me and I really enjoyed writing,” he recalled, was an Easter Vigil article. “It showed me how a simple invitation can have a powerful impact.” A Rutgers University student who became a Catholic that night told Donahue that she became a member of the Church because a dorm mate invited her to come to Mass with her one Sunday.
In December 2012, the office of communications was restructured. The director of communications became the paper’s editor-in-chief and Donahue was promoted to associate editor.
In his new role, Donahue continued to write stories, but also began to assign freelance photographers and reporters to cover events and interview priests, deacons and religious celebrating significant anniversaries and jubilees. In assigning stories, he often helped writers by providing background information on the subject or topic, suggested questions to ask and discussed the direction a story should take.
The new associate editor also took over the task of creating the paper’s story list which includes all possible articles as well as ideas for them. It is where each issue of “The Catholic Spirit” begins.
With the story list, Donahue would assist the editor-in-chief in determining what stories would be covered and where they would be placed in the paper’s layout. “I found it rewarding when the paper was finally finished and I was able to see it and know all my planning had paid off,” he said.
By 2017, Donahue was writing more in-depth stories on serious subjects and becoming more involved with the production of the newspaper. In fact, in 2017 he earned a second-place award from the Catholic Press Association for Best Investigative/Analysis News Writing for his article titled, “Heroin epidemic: clergy, law enforcement speak as “One.” At the time, he said the article was an example of what he tries to do at “The Catholic Spirit:”— find the spiritual element in a story and then present what the Church teaches about it.
A year after the installation of Bishop James F. Checchio in 2016, “The Catholic Spirit” was again to change. In January 2017, Bishop Checchio asked Father Glenn J. Comandini to become the Advisor to “The Catholic Spirit.” Donahue remained as associate editor.
At the end of 2017, Bishop Checchio announced that Father Comandini would be the managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit,” and the editor-in-chief would become advisor to the paper. Although Donahue would remain as Associate Editor, his responsibilities again increased. He received and answered the scores of e-mails the paper receives each day from individuals who had questions about the paper or wanted something included in an upcoming edition.
In addition, he continued to write stories, and, in 2018, Donahue wrote a two-part series entitled, “Family Continues to Heal After Drug Overdose Death.” He added a sidebar on the sacrament of reconciliation and how it can help in the healing process. For the series, he received a second-place award from the Catholic Press Association in 2019 for Best Feature Writing.
Since 2018, Donahue has worked with Father Comandini to produce the best paper possible. Together, they decide what stories are covered and where they are placed in the paper. The associate editor still assigns and reviews stories, writes captions and headlines and works with the graphic artist to ensure all pages are filled.
Saying that working on the newspaper has at times been challenging, Donahue said that this year when his wife, who has been an associate professor and chair, Department of English, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Bronx, N.Y., announced she was going to retire, he decided to end his story of writing for “The Catholic Spirit.”
Reflecting on his 19 years with “The Catholic Spirit,” Donahue said he is grateful and blessed to have had the opportunity not only to use his journalism career to spread the good news of the Gospel, but meet hundreds of people of all ages at work and events who share the same faith.
Those encounters, as well as covering events such as ordinations of Bishop James F. Checchio and priests and deacons; final vows of women religious; and high school graduations; have fostered a deeper and greater appreciation for his faith.
It inspired him to participate in a holy hour at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Milltown, for two years on Friday nights, and become a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 7250 at that parish. On Nov. 13, Donahue was among more than 140 men who were exemplified as Fourth Degree members of the men’s fraternal organization in a ceremony on the USS New Jersey in Camden.
In retirement, he and Cathryn plan to travel to visit friends and family.
Donahue, an avid golfer, is also looking forward to spending more time on the links as well as with the couple’s 13-month-old miniature poodle, Tessie.