My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
The message of Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to evangelize has been strong and consistent: “Go forth.” In a time when so many Catholics have drifted away from the Church, we have to live by Pope Francis’ word to spread the Joy of the Gospel. I am pleased to announce our efforts as a Diocese to help in this task.
Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Joseph and St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of the DeSales Media Group, we have been able to help one of the largest Catholic radio stations in the U.S. to reach our community. Relevant Radio succeeded in acquiring WNSW 1430 AM. Because of this acquisition, Catholic programming is now available to the whole greater New York City metropolitan area.
The 14-year-old network follows the mission to assist the Church in the New Evangelization, helping people bridge the gap between faith and everyday life. With its live interactive programs – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and with 70 hours of original programming by award-winning hosts each week, Relevant Radio seeks to inspire and transmit a message of hope while promoting the teachings of our Church. Previously aired shows are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on www.relevantradio.com. We can listen to the radio in the car, while we are at work or at home.
This is not only valuable to the Catholic people but to people of all faiths to help them better understand the Catholic faith and share what they learn with others.
This year during our celebration of World Communications Day, we recalled the words of Pope Francis: “The revolution taking place in communications media and in information technologies represents a great and thrilling challenge; may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of God.”
We are part of this revolution to spread the Good News. We have been given a great gift with this Catholic radio station, especially with its capacity to reach 16 million souls in our area. The new station – 1430 AM – will join 35 other stations across the country, reaching a total of 48.6 million people. Relevant Radio also reaches across the globe, sending our message of love through online streaming and mobile applications to listeners in 146 foreign countries.
The national headquarters of Relevant Radio is located in Green Bay, Wis., and operates with the blessing of my fellow bishop, David L. Ricken, Bishop of Green Bay.
This beneficial tool for the New Evangelization, which is a not-for-profit radio network supported by listeners – www.relevantradio1.com/donations – comes right in time for the upcoming Synod of the Family and the World Meeting of Families which will take place in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2015. Relevant Radio will be key to assisting our evangelization efforts preaching the Gospel of the Family, as well as informing, educating and encouraging us to keep living a Catholic life.
As we put out into the deep to practice the mandate of the New Evangelization, we acknowledge and bless the efforts of Relevant Radio in spreading the Catholic Faith and join the millions of listeners, together as one Church.
