The Parisian Catholic press and the February 1848 Revolution

Twenty-two Catholic periodicals were printed in Paris in February 1848 when the Orleanist king, Louis Philippe was overthrown and France became a republic. They are valuable but neglected resources which elucidate what Catholics thought and what their concerns were in 1848. While many Catholics retained legitimist or royalist sympathies, they welcomed the republic because of its promise of freedoms (especially of religion and of education). This article examines how that Catholic periodical press was affected by and how it responded to the February revolution and the proclamation of a new republic. The number of these periodicals (more than double the number in July 1830) suggests that there was a Catholic revival in France during the July Monarchy and indicates that there were divergent Catholic opinions about religious and political ideas.