THE PRAIRIE MESSENGER

Full Size 42k

Full Size 187k

A particularly difficult challenge to the continuation of the Bote occurred during the closing years of the First World War. An Order- in- Council, under the War Measures Act, required that any publication in the language of a country at war with Canada would be required to obtain a license in order to continue publication. A request on behalf of the Bote was refused. However, we read in the issue of Oct. 9, 1918: "We have resolved to do our duty as here-to-fore toward the Church of our Fathers, and toward the country of our adoption, and since it is denied to us to do it in the mother tongue of our readers, we shall do it in the language which to them is most familiar."

The paper appeared in English, though still under the name of St. Peter's Bote. The Order in Council was revoked on Dec. 30, 1919, and the decision was made to resume printing in German, even though by that time many subscribers that read only English had been recieving the paper. The issue of Jan. 7, 1920, was in German and English, but the next ones were in German except for some advertisements in English.

Once launched on its way, the paper, later known as the Prairie Messenger, continued and became the Catholic weekly for all the dioceses of Saskatchewan.