Share Your Catholic Stories and Images
Stories for The Valley Catholic Magazine
The Valley Catholic magazine focuses on personal stories and actions. What better way to share our faith than through testimonials and faith stories! For example, rather than writing about an event or a parish ministry, we are focusing on a person either involved in that ministry or event or one who has benefited from it. Rather than writing about “Ways to prepare for Advent,” we’d focus on 10 ways a specific family observes Advent.
Once a story is submitted, it becomes the property of The Valley Catholic. Simply, there cannot be a copyright attached to the work; therefore, The Valley Catholic is not liable to compensate the author. Articles will be published at the Editor’s discretion. All articles submitted are subject to editing by the editor for content and style.
Story Submission Criteria
- Stories should demonstrate on the person or persons their faith has positively impacted their lives and/or the lives of those around them or specific faith-related actions people can take to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ
- We do not publish Letters to the Editor
- As we only publish quarterly, the article should not be time sensitive.
- Articles should be 400 to 600 words and original work.
- Always identify your source or interviewee by their full name (First name, Last name) followed by who they are. (i.e. Father Joseph Carney, pastor, Blessed Trinity Parish)
- Please fact-check your articles before submitting. Ask: Are the names spelled correctly? Is all the information accurate?
- Upload the article as a Word document
- High resolution pictures can be submitted with each article (maximum of three phots may be submitted). See Photo Submission below for more details.
Photos
We are always seeking photos from parishes and ministries around the Diocese to collect in our SmugMug digital albums for use in articles, materials, and social media. Bear in mind that photos of large groups are less likely to be used, since faces are hard to distinguish. Photos depicting activity are more likely to be used than posed photos of people standing in a line.
Photo Criteria
- send in JPEG format
- must be at least 300dpi – In order to ensure the photograph meets this requirement, set the camera to the largest image file setting available (usually labeled “L” for large).
- include a caption:
- identify people in the photo by name (from left to right: L-R)
- include information about what is going on in the image
- the date of the photo
- who took the photo
- signed photo release for those identifiable in the photo
Events for Diocesan Calendar
Diocesan Event Calendar Criteria
- Event must be related to the practice of the Catholic faith and hosted or sponsored by a parish, a school, or a Catholic organization in good standing with the Diocese of San José.
- Event is open to anyone in the diocese, not exclusive to one parish, school, or a closed group that requires membership.
- Event is not common throughout most parishes, i.e. Holy Day Masses, Rosaries, Stations of the Cross, Soup Suppers, Bible Studies, etc.
- No more than 200 words
- Include the following information: day, date(s), time, title of program or event, brief description, cost and contact/registration information.
- You are welcome to send us ONE digital file of a flier or social media graphic.
- Must be received at least 21 calendar days prior to the event.
News Briefs from around the Diocese
Diocesan News Brief Criteria
- News Briefs must be related to a parish, school, or a Catholic organization that has permission to function in the Diocese of San Jose and furthers the mission and vision of the Diocese of San Jose.
- Each parishes, schools or Catholic organizations may only submit a news brief once a quarter.
- The new brief no more than 300 words
- New brief who, what, when, where, and why
- Always identify your source or interviewee by their full name (First name, Last name) followed by who they are. (i.e. Father Joseph Carney, pastor, Blessed Trinity Parish)
- Please fact-check your articles before submitting. Ask: Are the names spelled correctly? Is all the information accurate?
- Upload the article as a Word document
- High resolution pictures can be submitted with each article (maximum of three phots may be submitted). See Photo Submission above for more details.
- News briefs will be published at the Editor’s discretion. All articles submitted are subject to editing by the editor for content and style.