In the beginning was the word and the word was in French.
The year was 1992.
The word was in The Magnificat, a French devotional publication that in 1994 spawned a German-language twin by the same name.
The first American version of the pocket-sized booklets came out in December 1998 under the editorial guidance of Peter John Cameron, a Dominican priest who was a professor at St. Joseph”™s Seminary in Yonkers and who still serves as editor. In 2004, The Magnificat began a Spanish-language version. About the same time, MagnifiKid! debuted, targeting youthful souls.
The monthly Yonkers publications ”“ English and Spanish Magnificat and MagnifiKid! ”“ have a combined circulation of 260,000. The English version costs $39.95 per year, or $5.95 individually; the Spanish version and MagnifKid! $29.90, or $3.95 for one. Whether Spanish, English, French or German, all are uniquely produced.
The booklets are not your garden-variety periodicals. While editors sea to sea scramble for the hottest covers, the most gripping news, The Magnificat harks to a more contemplative era and to the quieter moments of the make-a-buck, get-it-done day. Among its pages is the text of the daily celebration of Mass. An October sampling of Father Peter”™s message includes a passage from Nathaniel Hawthorne: “”˜There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.”™” Then, he brings the passage into the spiritual realm: “For us, it is the purity, maternal mediation and compassion of Our Lady that fill our October with sunshine and that ”˜produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings.”™”
Billed as a “daily worship aid,” marketing and communications manager Paul Snatchko said, “The daily Mass-goer would be a very good example of our regular subscriber.” And they are passionate about their reading. “When we travel, people say, ”˜I love your magazine. I can”™t live without it.”™ I”™ve been in publishing a long time” ”“ Snatchko”™s journalism roots lie in Pennsylvania newspapers ”“ “and I”™ve had people say I like your publication. But with The Magnificat, people say, ”˜I love your publication. I”™d be lost without it. It”™s the first thing I pack when I travel.”™”
Some don”™t travel far and The Magnificat works for them, too, said Snatchko: “It”™s a convenient size and a convenient way to maintain a prayer routine for someone on the go.” That list includes commuters, college students and those for whom spiritual reflection is as daily as the sunrise. Subscribers receive daily meditations, original essays, prayers, hymns, blessings, devotions and information on lives of the saints.
The publication is well-known for its artwork. The covers are on high-gloss, heavy stock paper and feature, as Snatchko notes, “the masters of sacred art.” The October issue, like all others, carries an essay on art history, in this case on “St. Francis Giving Away His Cloak and His Dream of a Palace” by Stefano di Giovanni Sassetta, who painted in the 1400s. The art is without fail spiritual in nature, although MagnifiKid!, as you”™d expect, has lighter fare on its cover. The thin paper on which the text is printed will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has thumbed through the Good Book and is known as “Bible paper.”
Snatchko is a practicing Catholic. “I think you really have to be in my position,” he said. “Either Catholic or possess a tremendous appreciation and knowledge of the faith if not. How else could you explain what”™s in the publication if you don”™t have an appreciation of the church”™s liturgical traditions?” But he notes Catholicism is not a prerequisite for working among the publisher”™s staff of 19.
The magazines moved to 86 Main St. in December, having bided their time in temporary digs on Nepperhan Avenue until the Station Plaza building it now calls home ”“ still possessing a whiff of fresh paint ”“ was completed. Before 2005, The Magnificat”™s American branch had been based in Buffalo. Snatchko said the decision to move to Yonkers was based on the double-barrel benefits of proximity to New York City and a blossoming Yonkers neighborhood with easy access to the Metro-North station.
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“The editorial side with Father Peter has always been here,” Snatcko said. “We just moved the operations from Buffalo.”
The Magnificat ”“ rhymes with jot ”“ is the name Christians ascribe to Mary”™s New Testament prayer upon learning she was pregnant with Jesus (Luke, chapter 1).
The Magnificat last year published its first book, devotional writings by Pope Benedict XVI: “Benedictus,” which in keeping with the magazines”™ love of art features 732 spiritually themed paintings. Other, pocket-sized publications include The Magnificat Rosary Companion, the pre-Easter Lenten Companion and The Magnificat Advent Companion. Advent is the time in the liturgical calendar leading to Christmas. The rosary ”“ dating to 1200 ”“ is a meditation on four sets of mysteries from the life of Jesus ”“ luminous, glorious, sorrowful and joyful ”“ each with five further mysteries of its own. Snatchko notes the luminous mysteries were only added to the rosary under Pope John Paul II. There are also Magnificat Christmas cards and noninscribed religious cards for other occasions.
The Web site is www.magnificat.com.
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