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Bishop Olmsted Flips
the Switch Initiating Catholic Radio in Arizona
By Ed and Bette Sharpe -
Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV
(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
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