DEBATE, EL. - A Spanish Catholic daily newspaper founded in 1910 in Madrid by a zealous convert, Sebastiano de Luque, it initially had a rather precarious existence due to lack of support, with a circulation of only 4,500 copies. The following year it was acquired by the National Association of Young Propagandists, a true movement of Catholic Action, which had been established in 1908 to combat a senseless anti-clerical campaign, but due to financial difficulties was initially unable to achieve its intended purpose.
Towards the end of 1912, Ángel Herrera joined the newspaper's management; a capable organizer and master of Spanish Catholic journalism, he devoted his energetic and intelligent activity to the daily until February 1933, when he was called by the ecclesiastical hierarchy to lead Catholic Action. Through his efforts, he transformed the newspaper into one of the best and most well-edited publications. To achieve this result, he established an independent Catholic society that would safeguard the newspaper's editorial independence, ensuring its Catholic character by including in its statutes a clause granting the Spanish metropolitan archbishops and the Bishop of Madrid the power to intervene, when necessary, not only by changing the director and any editor but even by suspending the daily for up to two months. Thus secured against any possible deviation, the newspaper operated in the spirit of Catholic Action and worked politically to encourage Catholics to take a positive role in government, in keeping with Spain’s great religious traditions.
Under Herrera’s leadership, the newspaper’s circulation steadily increased, reaching 200,000 copies daily. It attracted the best elements of national culture, including Calvo Sotelo—who died tragically in 1936—and Gil Robles, both of whom served as editors of *El Debate* until they entered political life. The newspaper ceased publication in 1936.