On May 1, 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, The Catholic Worker newspaper made its debut with a first issue of twenty-five hundred copies. Dorothy Day and a few others hawked the paper in Union Square for a penny a copy (still the price) to passersby.
Today 187 Catholic Worker communities remain committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and forsaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms.
Explore the life and writings of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. Discover what Catholic Worker communities worldwide are doing today to fulfill Dorothy and Peter’s vision. It is a fascinating story.
Suggested articles
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Aims and Purposes (May 1, 1939)
“We repeat again and again that our work is to bring men back to Christ.” The workers of the world are all potential members of the Mystical Body of Christ, regardless of race or nationality. The Catholic Worker program consists of clarification of thought, Houses of Hospitality, and farming communes. This will be accomplished through voluntary poverty, hard work, and the support of the wider community.
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May Day, 1933
An account of the birth of the Catholic Worker Movement on May 1, 1933, in New York City’s Union Square, from the opening paragraphs of “All Is Grace: a Biography of Dorothy Day,” by Jim Forest. “Dorothy found more bewilderment than enthusiasm from those who had the paper thrust into their hands. They all knew The Daily Worker, a Communist paper that was a militant supporter of unions and strikes. But a radical paper, a paper for workers, put out by Catholics?”
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Engaging the Internet as a Catholic Worker
In this 1997 essay, Jim Allaire reflects on launching the Catholic Worker Roundtable website (later CatholicWorker.org), arguing that online communication aligns with the movement’s tradition of public witness and dialogue. Drawing on Catholic theology and personalist philosophy, he defends the responsible use of technology as a means of engagement, not retreat, in the struggle for justice.
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A Conversation with Nina Polcyn Moore, 1986, by Rosalie Riegle
What golden thread connects Dorothy Day’s radical vision to the Catholic Worker houses still serving the poor today? In this 1986 interview conducted by Rosalie Riegle, Nina Polcyn Moore—one of the movement’s pioneering voices—traces that “golden cord” of providence through five decades of Catholic Worker history.
Moore offers firsthand accounts of the movement’s Depression-era struggles, the daily realities of running houses of hospitality in Milwaukee and Chicago, and her remarkable 1970 journey to Russia alongside Dorothy Day herself. But she also confronts the movement’s tensions: Can families truly flourish in houses of hospitality? How has women’s leadership evolved in a movement founded by a laywoman? And what does authentic lay leadership look like when living out the radical works of mercy? -
To Our Readers
Summary: States that the purpose of the paper is to articulate the Church’s social program and to popularize the Popes’ social encyclicals. (DDLW #12) The Catholic Worker, May 1933, 4 (First Issue)
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The Aims and Purposes of the Catholic Worker (1943)
Summary: On the tenth anniversary of The Catholic Worker she explains their purpose as promoting love of God and our brother. Their work expresses the beauty of Christianity in supporting the worker, the poor, and eschewing violence. She highlights instances of violent racism. (DDLW #919) The Catholic Worker, May 1943, 4
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What is the Catholic Worker?
This essay was written by Jim Forest on the Catholic Worker Movement for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History to be published by the Liturgical Press. Jim Forest, once a managing editor of The Catholic Worker, is the author of Love is the Measure: a Biography of Dorothy Day; and Living With Wisdom: a Biography of Thomas Merton. Both are published by Orbis.
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Biography of Peter Maurin
This essay by Jim Forest on Peter Maurin was written for The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History published by the Liturgical Press.
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Nina Polcyn Moore Shares Memories of Dorothy Day, an Interview By Rosalie Riegle – June 1998
Nina Polcyn Moore, lifelong friend to the Catholic Worker movement and Dorothy Day, gave this interview to Rosalie Riegle on June 28th, 1998. This wide-ranging conversation includes recounting a trip that Nina took to Russia with Dorothy Day. Nina and Rosalie review correspondence that Dorothy and Nina had exchanged over the years, relating bits of Catholic Worker history as well as revealing a more human side of Dorothy in her later years.
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Aims and Purposes (1940)
Summary: Restates the central vision of the Catholic Worker Movement as working for “a new heaven and a new earth, wherein justice dwelleth.” This vision recognizes the “primacy of the spritual” and the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. The Catholic Worker is “a new way of life” involving Houses of Hospitality for the daily practice of the Works of Mercy and Farming Communes where each person can take responsibility of doing their part. (DDLW #182). The Catholic Worker, February 1940, 7.
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“Our Story” by Llewellyn Scott
“Our Story” by Llewellyn Scott (1914-1978) is an autobiographical account of Scott’s experience as the first Black American to open a house of hospitality, the Martin de Porres House in Washington D.C.
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Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker Movement
- Reprinted from The Catholic Worker newspaper, May 2019, 86th Anniversary Issue
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Engaging Technology as a Personalist
In this 1995 essay, Catholic Worker Jim Allaire reflects on how personalist philosophy supports the thoughtful use of technology. Drawing on Emmanuel Mounier and Catholic Worker history, he argues that engagement—not retreat—is the path forward, urging Christians to use tools like the Internet creatively and critically in service of justice, peace, and community.
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1930s | Dorothy Day | Dorothy Day's Writings | History of the Catholic Worker Movement | Peter Maurin
House of Hospitality: Foreword
In this introduction to “House of Hospitality,” Dorothy Day provides a detailed account of the beginnings of the Catholic Worker. As a journalist covering the Communist-led march on Washington in December 1932, Dorothy yearns and prays to find a way to work for the poor and oppressed. She meets Peter Maurin who “indoctrinates” her in Catholic social teaching and his program to change the social order: starting a newspaper, houses of hospitality, roundtable discussions and farming communes. Includes several of Peter’s essays and details about starting the newspaper and their first houses of hospitality. (DDLW #435).
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The Evolution of the ‘Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker’
The Aims and Means of the Catholic Worker movement describe its goals and the means by which the movement hopes to achieve those goals. The Aims and Means have taken many forms over the years; the following are some of its iterations.
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Exploring Anarchism with Judith Gregory
Judith Gregory, a former editor of The Catholic Worker newspaper from 1960-1970, discusses anarchism in light of contemporary political philosophy in “What Political Principle?” originally published in May 1961. Gregory also explores the complex relationship between the individual and the State.
An addendum, published six months later, “Further Clarification” continues the discussion. -
About Dorothy Day | About the Catholic Worker | Dorothy Day | History of the Catholic Worker Movement
The Life and Spirituality of Dorothy Day
This article is from the introduction to the book Praying with Dorothy Day by James Allaire and Rosemary Broughton.
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Aims and Purposes (1943)
Summary: On the tenth anniversary of The Catholic Worker she explains their purpose as promoting love of God and our brother. Their work expresses the beauty of Christianity in supporting the worker, the poor, and eschewing violence. She highlights instances of violent racism. (DDLW #919) The Catholic Worker, May 1943, 4
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A Catholic Worker Primer (Chuck Trapkus)
“A Catholic Worker Primer” was originally drawn by Chuck Trapkus in 1986 and continues to be distributed and reprinted in Catholic Worker circles as much for its ability to distill the essence of the Movement as for its fun and irreverent style.
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The Catholic Worker Movement in 140 Words
The Catholic Worker Movement began simply enough on May 1, 1933, when a journalist named Dorothy Day and a philosopher…
