ROMEOVILLE—Mary Breslin, editor and general manager of the Catholic Explorer since June 1, 1998, announced Feb. 22 that she will retire from the leadership position at the diocesan newspaper.

Breslin, a graduate of Dominican University in River Forest, Ill., who did post-graduate studies at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, began her editorial career as a textbook editor at Benefic Press, a Chicago-based educational division of Harcourt, Brace Publishing.

Before accepting the position as editor of the Explorer, Breslin was a news and feature writer and a regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park, St. Anthony Messenger magazine, Catholic News Service and the Explorer. Among her many accomplishments as a freelance writer was a series of articles covering the aftermath of war in Croatia and its impact on families and a series of articles on the historic 100th Parliament of the World's Religions that took place in Chicago.

During her tenure as editor, Breslin launched a youth page with weekly columns written by representatives of the eight Catholic high schools in the diocese, an Internet Explorer web site, regular legislative updates, analysis of issues that impact Catholics and more. Her weekly commentaries reflected a common-sense approach to the news as it intersected with a faith experience. She took over writing weekly book reviews for the feature section, following the March 2007 death of reviewer Carmelite Father Kevin O. Shanley.

Breslin was responsible for compiling, editing and supervising production of the 124-paged four-color hardcover diocesan 50th anniversary book, “ Celebrating Church, Creating Community,” published in 1999.

In 2001, when news of the sexual abuse scandal in the church first surfaced, on the recommendation of the Explorer Advisory Board, Breslin established an editorial policy of transparency, establishing and encouraging an environment of credibility in the diocese.

In 2004, Breslin was honored by Lewis University and the Christian brothers with the DeLaSalle Award for outstanding service to the church and the community, as editor of the Catholic Explorer.

The recipient of countless awards—including the Proclaim Award for General Excellence from the U.S. bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign, the Catholic Press Association and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association—Breslin and the staff of the Explorer made it their mission to cover stories of the people making news across the seven counties of the diocese.

Breslin said, "It has been my privilege to serve the Diocese of Joliet as the editor and general manager of the Explorer for the past 10 years. I am especially blessed to have been associated with the staff—an extraordinarily talented, dedicated team of professionals."