Media Advisory
Contact:
Christine Valentine-Owsik
Publicist
Our Sunday Visitor
215-230-8095
COwsik@osv.com
Our Sunday Visitor offers on-site analysts
during World Meeting of Families and U.S. papal visit
For media seeking additional information and perspective on breaking news during these events
(Sept. 22-27, 2015), Our Sunday Visitor’s on-location team will offer timely explanation, as well
as insight on Pope Francis’ writings, teachings, speeches, and remarks; his life and background;
his view on reform of the Catholic Church; the current state of global Catholicism; and new OSV
products to support understanding of the news events and Year of Mercy.
Gregory Erlandson, Publisher for the Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, overseeing its
periodicals, trade books, parish resources and curricula. The only North American appointed to
the Vatican media reform committee in 2014 by the Council of Cardinals, he also serves as a
consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Erlandson is former president of
the Catholic Press Association and has served on the board of the Association of Catholic
Publishers. Before joining Our Sunday Visitor, he served as Vatican correspondent in the Rome
Bureau for Catholic News Service. He’s won a variety of journalism awards from the Catholic
Press Association, and has written for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles
Times, Newsmax, and many Catholic publications. He is co-author of the 2010 book, Pope
Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal (Our Sunday
Visitor). Erlandson has covered the last two conclaves and can speak on a variety of topics
connected to Pope Francis and the Catholic Church around the world.
Terry Poplava, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales for Our Sunday Visitor. In addition
to OSV’s special products and series designed for the Year of Mercy, Terry can discuss OSV’s
unveiling of a new app designed especially for the Jubilee Year, to be launched during the World
Meeting of Families. The “365 Days To Mercy” app, offered free in the iTunes and Google Play
app stores – and to World Meeting of Families attendees, is designed to accompany the faithful
on a spiritual journey during the Pope’s newly proclaimed Jubilee Year of Mercy (Dec. 8, 2015 –
Nov. 20, 2016). The app features daily mercy and scripture reflections; daily Pope tweets; Yearof-Mercy news items from OSV Newsweekly; excerpts from official catechetical resources, OSV
books and products; and traditional Catholic devotions, such as the Divine Mercy Chaplet. A
longtime marketing and sales executive, Terry leads all marketing, branding, public relations and
sales functions for Our Sunday Visitor, for both divisions -- Publishing and Offertory Solutions.
Gretchen R. Crowe, Editor, OSV Newsweekly. Gretchen will be in Washington, D.C., New
York and Philadelphia reporting firsthand on Pope Francis’ historic U.S. visit. In addition to
writing daily and posting photographs, she will be active on social media via the Twitter handle
@GretchenOSV. As part of the OSV team covering the papal visit and the World Meeting of
Families, Gretchen’s coverage can be found at www.osv.com/papalvisit. The OSV Newsweekly
team also will provide daily analysis, e-newsletter updates, infographics and photos. In addition
to her renowned coverage and writing for OSV Newsweekly — the largest national Catholic
weekly newspaper — Gretchen has earned numerous awards for her journalistic excellence both
for the Newsweekly as well as for her earlier work at the Arlington Catholic Herald.
Matthew E. Bunson, Ph.D., Senior Correspondent for Our Sunday Visitor, general editor of Our
Sunday Visitor's Catholic Almanac and the editor of OSV’s The Catholic Answer Magazine.
Matthew will likewise be in Washington D.C., New York, and Philadelphia covering each stage
of the Pope’s U.S. visit. His best-selling book, Pope Francis (Our Sunday Visitor, 2013), was the
first English-language biography of the new pontiff and won the Biography of the Year award
from the Association of Catholic Publishers. Bunson is author or co-author of over 50 books
including: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History, The Pope Encyclopedia, We Have a Pope!
Benedict XVI, and the Encyclopedia of Saints. His Encyclopedia of American Catholic
History (Our Sunday Visitor, 2014) won Reference Book of the Year from the Catholic Press
Association. In addition, he is Faculty Chair for the Catholic Distance University and a senior
fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He has served as a consultant to numerous
news organizations, including USA Today, and has been a guest on many television and radio
programs, including MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, Relevant Radio and EWTN. Aside from his
Ph.D. in Church History, he holds a doctorate in pastoral theology.
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ABOUT OUR SUNDAY VISITOR
The world’s largest English-language Catholic publisher, Our Sunday Visitor serves millions of Catholics
globally through its publishing, offertory, and communication services. Established in 1912, Our Sunday
Visitor publishes a wide range of books including Bibles, biographies of the saints, books by Pope
Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, children’s books, devotionals, bible studies, inspirational works,
and curriculum. Our Sunday Visitor is a not-for-profit organization, returning a portion of net earnings
back to the Catholic community through the Our Sunday Visitor Institute. For more information, visit
www.osv.com