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Bishop
Olmsted Flips the Switch Initiating Catholic Radio in Arizona
By Ed and Bette Sharpe
- Glendale Daily Planet
(GDP 12/17/09)
Phoenix- Immaculate Heart Radio held a 'Radio
Station Launching' Event today heralding the arrival of an all
catholic radio station serving Phoenix and vicinity.
Many priests, parishioners
and media from around the Phoenix diocese joined to partake in the launch
and station blessing at at the Mount Claret Retreat Center in Phoenix,
with Bishop Thomas
J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, blessing the endeavor and it's
people and ‘flipping the switch’ to initiate
broadcasting from Immaculate Heart Radio's newest station KIHP.
Immaculate Heart Radio broadcasts Catholic programming from around the country and around the world, but also provides local programming in some of its markets. Preparations are already being made to begin a local “Bishop’s Hour” in Phoenix, which would focus on the people, issues and events in the diocese of
Phoenix.
Jim Dwyer, Director of Public
Information for the Diocese of Phoenix, said about the
upcoming Bishop’s Hour, “It will provide us a real
solid communications vehicle to get the word out so the bishop
can actually talk to his flock directly, and also to hear the
great national programming that is available through
Immaculate Heart Radio.”
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted,
Bishop of Phoenix with Doug Sherman, Immaculate Heart
Radio
founder and president and his son Fr. Branigan Sherman, LC
- Photo By
Ed Sharpe - Glendale Daily Planet
Earlier this
month the Federal Communications Commission
granted Immaculate Heart Radio an application to
purchase 5,000 watt KXAM AM 1310 from Embee
Broadcasting, Inc. The station is licensed to Mesa and
the signal reaches the greater Phoenix metropolitan area from
that location. The new call letters are KIHP – for
Immaculate Heart (Radio) of Phoenix.
“We are very excited to serve the Church in this way by
bringing the best Catholic programming from around the country
and around the world to Arizona,” said Immaculate Heart
Radio president Doug Sherman.
Bishop Thomas
J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, expressed his appreciation to
Immaculate Heart Radio, Mr. Doug Sherman and his associates,
for their efforts on behalf of the Catholics of Arizona.
“Bringing Catholic Radio to Arizona is a dream come
true for many of us. This project is one that I gladly endorse
and prayerfully support.”
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted,
Bishop of Phoenix - Photo By
Ed Sharpe - Glendale Daily Planet
During the blessing, Bishop Olmsted said,
“We constantly see the power of God’s Word being discovered and finding fruit and spreading where we never thought it was possible for it to happen.”
He continued, “I’m delighted to be gathered with a number of you here today who have been praying for this day for many years and who have made it possible through your prayers and your sacrificial gifts. This is precisely the day for which we have longed and from this day forward the Word of God will not be chained in terms of radio stations here. This radio station will be up and running 24 hours a day.”
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted,
Bishop of Phoenix blessed the radio station KIHP and the
attendees at the radio station launching event. - Photo
By Ed Sharpe - Glendale Daily Planet
Doug Sherman and his son, Fr. Branigan Sherman, shared the story of how Immaculate Heart Radio began with one station in 1997, making it the seventh Catholic radio station in the country at the time. Today, there are 200 Catholic radio stations and translators around the country, 25 of those in the Immaculate Heart Radio network.
The first station founded in 1997
was KIHM in Reno, Nevada. KSFB
AM 1260 in San Francisco is IHR’s largest station in terms
of population, followed by KSMH AM 1620 in Sacramento. IHR’s
programming is primarily focused on evangelization and
catechesis, but devotional hours including the Rosary and
Mass, and Catholic news from around the world are also key
elements in the broadcast day. Programs that focus on
youth and young adults, as well as family and marriage
counseling are also very popular.
Sherman stated, “In the past twelve years we have been
amazed by hearing from thousands of our listeners who say that
Immaculate Heart Radio’s programming has brought them closer
to God, deeper into their life of faith, back to the Church
and the Sacraments, or into the Church for the first time. We
have heard from people who have told us that it has saved or
strengthened their marriage, saved their baby, or even saved
their life."
"There
are several people in seminaries and convents who say that
they found their vocation through hearing the Catholic faith
broadcast on the air through Immaculate Heart Radio. It
is those stories which motivate our staff and supporters to
expand into new areas such as Arizona”, Sherman said.
More information is available at www.ihradio.org,
or by calling 866-77 HEART.
Doug Sherman,
Immaculate Heart Radio founder and president
Photo By Ed Sharpe - Glendale Daily Planet
Monsignor John McMahon, a retired priest in residence at Mount Claret Retreat Center, expressed his support of the station at the launch, saying, “I have every confidence that the program we begin today will be the ongoing education and continuation of the Catholic Church. This happening today is a powerful blessing to our Church and particularly to our diocese of Phoenix.”
Monsignor John McMahon, a retired priest in residence at Mount Claret Retreat Center,
expressed his support of the station at the launch event - Photo
By Ed Sharpe - Glendale Daily Planet
Father Fred Adamson, Vicar General of the Diocese of Phoenix, also expressed his excitement during a live on-air interview at the event. He said,
“I think it’s exciting to have the Catholic Church present in one additional way in the diocese. What a gift it is for people to be able to listen 24 hours a day 7 days a week and allow the Church to have a great impact in their lives. It’s a great way to reach and out to people and evangelize.”
Mission of
Immaculate Heart Radio
Immaculate Heart Radio is
a lay apostolate dedicated to spreading the knowledge, love
and practice of the Roman Catholic Faith by means of radio.
Our programming content is therefore primarily catechetical,
devotional, and inspirational.
Immaculate Heart Radio exists in response to the call of the
Second Vatican Council to the laity to evangelize, and to
its call for all members of the Church to use radio to
evangelize. Immaculate Heart Radio offers its work in the
worldwide effort to fulfill the call of Pope John Paul II
for a New Evangelization and a New Springtime for the
Church.
Immaculate Heart Radio declares an absolute faithfulness to
the Holy Father and the Bishops in union with him. We are
bound to accurately and fully transmit the Faith as proposed
by the Teaching Authority of the Church. We are specifically
bound by the vehicle in which it is proposed for our time,
the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We hold everything we
broadcast up to the Catechism as its standard. These
qualities shape our service to the faithful in the several
dioceses in which we broadcast, our obedience to the bishops
of those dioceses, and our assistance to local priests and
religious.
Immaculate Heart Radio is committed to Sharing the Heart of
the Christian Faith in humility, charity, respect and
ecumenism; and to draw upon the vast diversity of riches
which is the Catholic heritage in order to broadcast
something for every believer."
For more information visit www.ihradio.org or call 866-77-HEART.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted,
Bishop of Phoenix accepts a crystal radio tower given
by
Doug Sherman, Immaculate Heart Radio founder and
president in honor of the days event.
Left, Fr. Branigan Sherman, LC looks on. - Photo By Ed Sharpe - Glendale Daily Planet
Stations: Immaculate
Heart Radio currently operates now 24 stations (including 11
translators). Each Immaculate Heart Radio station broadcasts
authentic Catholic programming 24 hours a day. (Map courtesy
Immaculate
Heart Radio Network)
Doug Sherman, Immaculate
Heart Radio founder and president, Fr. Branigan Sherman, LC and Bishop
Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop accept the hearty congratulations offered
by Ed Sharpe Glendale Daily Planet (Far right) , We
also spoke a little about streaming media and the Glendale
Daily Planet's operation. - Photo By Bette Sharpe
- Glendale Daily Planet
(More photos, text
and caption data and some video yet to be posted!-
Ed)
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