May 22, 2003

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Contact:
Bud Bunce (503) 233-8373
bbunce@archdpdx.org

Catholic Sentinel Editor will receive the Leipzig Award

        Robert Pfohman, editor for the Catholic Sentinel, has been named the 2003
recipient of the Bishop Francis P. Leipzig Award presented by the Archdiocesan
Historical Commission. The award is given to an individual who has made a significant
contribution to the study of Pacific Northwest Catholic History, and made it available to a
large audience of interested people.

        The award is named in honor of historian Bishop Francis P. Leipzig. Bishop
Leipzig was the Bishop of the Diocese of Baker for 21 years (1950 – 1971). He worked
in his "retirement" in the Archives of the Archdiocese of Portland.

        The nomination for Robert Pfohman noted that he has been the editor of the
Catholic Sentinel since 1981. He has worked to preserve the historical archives of the
back issues and photos of the Sentinel, and has also brought the newspaper into the
21st century by publishing it using all digital means. "At his direction, there are now
electronic archives for the past decade, a gift to historians of the future," notes the
nomination. His effort is recognized for helping the Oregon Catholic Press develop "a
climate controlled room and cabinets to house the old bound Sentinel issues, which
date back to the 1870's." These preserved issues of the newspaper are in addition to
the volumes available on microfiche. It was noted, "Mr. Pfohman makes those volumes
on microfiche available for all researchers, amateur and professional."

        Robert Pfohman is the fifteenth person to be given the award since it began in
1981. Previous recipients include:

Father John R. Laidlaw, 1981
Monsignor Edmund J. Murnane, 1982
Sister Anne Harold, SNJM, 1985
Mrs. Harriet D. Munnick, 1985
Father Wilfred P. Schoenberg, SJ, 1988
Mr. W. Baxter Murray, 1990
Mr. Joseph D. McKay, 1992
Mr. Edward F. O'Meara, 1993
Monsignor William S. Stone, 1994
Dr. James T. Covert, 1995
Miss Patricia Brandt, 1996
Dr. Lillian Pereyra, 1996
Miss Mary F. Ryan, 1997
Father Martinus Cawley, OCSO, 1999

        The Leipzig Award will be presented to Mr. Pfohman at the Oregon Catholic
Historical Society Banquet on October 17, 2003.

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