U.S. Catholic has named Emily Sanna as executive editor and Stephanie Clary as the new managing editor, effective May 11, 2026.
U.S. Catholic editor-in-chief Claretian Father Ferdinand Okorie said of the new appointments, “Emily has been the mainstay of our ministry as a Roman Catholic media powerhouse. Every role she has occupied since she joined U.S. Catholic brings out her professionalism and leadership. I’m confident that she will lead with the same work ethic and dedication in her new role as executive editor. We are excited to welcome Stephanie back to U.S. Catholic as managing editor, sharing U.S. Catholic’s culture and vision. She will be a catalyst for our continued ministry of engaging our Roman Catholic faith through digital and print media.”
Sanna joined the U.S. Catholic team in 2015 as digital editor, and moved into the managing editor role in 2019. Over the past 11 years, she has led the publication through a number of changes, including a rebrand of the monthly print magazine completed in 2026 and an extensive website redesign completed in 2020. Her ongoing focus on audience development, search engine optimization (SEO), and artificial intelligence optimization (AIO) strategies has grown web traffic by 25% and subscribers by 10% year over year. With her leadership, U.S. Catholic has won the Catholic Media Association’s “National Magazine of the Year” award for four consecutive years, along with consistent recognition from both the Catholic Media Association and the Associated Church Press for coverage of topics including immigration, LGBTQ+ Catholics, racial justice, and more. Sanna serves as a board member of the Catholic Media Association.
“We’re at a moment when trust in media is at an all-time low and the questions facing people about how to live faithfully in a fractured world are urgent,” said Sanna. “I’m honored to step into this role and excited to work with the extremely talented group of editors here to keep telling stories that take both our readers and the world seriously.”
Clary joins the U.S. Catholic team with a decade of experience in Catholic media and
journalism. Her past roles have included environment editor at the National Catholic Reporter, digital editor at U.S. Catholic, assistant editor of Vermont Catholic magazine, and assistant director of communication for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington in Vermont. As U.S. Catholic’s digital editor from 2020–2022, she helped expand the publication’s multimedia offerings, including the launch of the Sunday Reflections video series, and implemented strategies to grow digital reach and engagement. Her work has won Catholic Media Association recognition for best editorial writing, best national electronic newsletter, best social media campaign, and best news writing on social justice issues. Clary serves on the board of The Well Spirituality Center, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph Mission Network.
“The planning and consideration given to every piece published by U.S. Catholic are increasingly rare in today’s fast-paced media environment. People are burned out by constant breaking news. They yearn for slower conversations that more deeply engage reality,” said Clary. “I’m humbled to join a team of skilled and well-respected editors at a publication that has been offering that exact thing to readers for 90 years and counting, through the lens of a faith that offers more than headlines.”
U.S. Catholic is published by the Claretian Missionaries USA-Canada Province. Following in the footsteps of St. Anthony Claret—a prolific writer and publisher whom Pope Pius XI called the “Modern Apostle of the Good Press”—the Claretians in the United States began their publishing ministry in 1935 with the first edition of the magazine The Voice of St. Jude. In 1963, during the Second Vatican Council, The Voice of St. Jude transformed into U.S. Catholic magazine.
Image: Emily Sanna (left) and Stephanie Clary (right)
