The 19th-century Catholic periodical literature is unique in many respects. Most of the periodical publications in mainly Catholic countries can be regarded as "Catholic" literature up to a few decades before 1800: the editorial line is implicitly Catholic in most instances.
The development of the press in the 19th century was in general terms a major factor in secularization according to Owen Chadwick. On the other hand, mass printing also meant that the "Pope of 1889 was far more influential that the Pope of 1839 because the later Pope was surrounded by the press and the earlier Pope was not" wrote Chadwick.[1]