Immaculate Heart Radio

Catholic radio programing coming soon to Phoenix

By Ambria Hammel | Dec. 16, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

At 3:45 p.m. Dec. 17, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted will “flip the switch” for the Valley’s first 24-hour Catholic radio station.

Immaculate Heart Radio’s debut on KIHP 1310AM will end a multi-year process to bring Catholic radio to the diocese.

“Every time we start a new station people are pretty excited, because Catholic radio is kind of unknown,” said Doug Sherman, president and founder of Immaculate Heart Radio. He has been helping the local Church raise funds for several years.

He founded the first Immaculate Heart station in 1997, making it the seventh full-time Catholic radio station in the country. Now there are about 150 Catholic stations nationwide — 23 of them belonging to Immaculate Heart Radio.

Bishop Olmsted found out about the radio apostolate while serving as the apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Gallup, N.M. During his 16-month leadership, the bishop took part in a few on-air interviews. Immaculate Heart Radio has been on the air in Gallup since 2005.

Each station has the option of airing “The Bishop’s Hour.” That’s when local bishops and other church leaders can discuss key events and topics that will inspire and inform, Bishop Olmsted said.

Jim Dwyer, public information officer for the Phoenix Diocese, is still refining the program’s details, but plans to start slow. Dwyer projected two to five hours a week of local programming at the onset.

The local timeslot will feature key leaders, including those from the Arizona Catholic Conference, the Catholic Schools Office and Catholic Charities Community Services.

With a name like Immaculate Heart Radio, it’s obvious the Catholic programming will count on the Blessed Mother’s intercession. Still, the local Church picked out KIHP — the “IHP” standing for Immaculate Heart Phoenix — to underscore her role in the outreach.

“First, it would be a channel of evangelization to those of no faith at all or who have fallen away from the practice of the faith,” the bishop said of the new station. “Wherever stations have opened across our country, stories of conversion have soon followed.”

Those stories include babies saved from abortion, Catholics growing deeper in their faith, strengthened family relationships and confirmed atheists bringing their family into the Church.

Bishop Olmsted also expects Immaculate Heart Radio to reach Catholics who are homebound, reside in nursing homes or have a limited ability to be active in a parish.

“Through Catholic radio, they will feel more closely connected with the rest of the faithful,” he said.

The bishop didn’t overlook commuters, who will tune in for a favorite program or happen to find the station while driving. Regardless, it will be an opportunity to grow in the faith and be encouraged in their vocation, the bishop said.

“Interestingly, the morning rosary is one of our popular programs,” Sherman said. The musical rosary will air at 7:30 a.m. MST and two other times throughout the day.

Other programming includes rebroadcasts of EWTN shows including Raymond Arroyo’s “The World Over” and seven hours of live call-in talk shows. Sherman said those are popular too with Q&As about everything from doctrine to parenting.

“I enjoy those programs that help people understand their faith through Scripture — for example programs like ‘The Journey Home’ and ‘EWTN Live’ and specials with Scott Hahn,” said Mike Kingman, a local Catholic and Knight of Columbus involved in fundraising for the station launch. “Shows with people that have come to know and grow in the faith, living examples of what it is and means to be Catholic.”