Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted chats with other Catholics during an Aug. 18 Immaculate Heart Radio reception at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale. "The Bishop's Hour," a locally produced program, was announced during the event.

'Bishop’s Hour' headed to Phoenix’s Immaculate Heart Radio station

Local Catholic voices will soon be a staple on two radio frequencies.

In addition to hearing Phoenix’s priests, religious and lay leaders on Radio Family Rosary, KXXT 1010AM, Catholics will also be hearing them on Immaculate Heart Radio, KIHP 1310AM.

Immaculate Heart Radio, which has been airing original and nationally syndicated programming 24 hours a day in Phoenix since December, will air a locally produced Bishop’s Hour beginning Sept. 13.

Immaculate Heart Radio, in partnership with the diocesan Office of Communications, announced the newest opportunity to evangelize Phoenix Aug. 18 at The Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale.

“It’s a media apostolate that is committed to providing programming that is inspirational, devotional and, more importantly, catechetical,” Debbie Georgianni, community relations representative for Immaculate Heart Radio in Phoenix and a Mesa Catholic, told the crowd.

Nearly 100 Catholics including many who own local businesses, work in pro-life organizations, staff Catholic schools and members of the Catholic Commerce Networking Association were on hand for the reception. Doug Sherman, who founded the 24-hour radio apostolate in 1997, along with his son, Fr. Branigan Sherman and Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, were also present.

The recorded, hour-long program will air on Mondays at 10 a.m. Listeners can expect host-driven segments including five minutes of news, a short message from the bishop and two 15-minute segments with various guests from the Catholic community.

The Bishop’s Hour will also allot time for an event calendar, public service announcements and a thank you to sponsors. Expect alternating profiles of local Catholic-owned businesses and musicians to wrap up each hour. It will be rebroadcast later in the week.

Teresa Tomeo, a voice some may know from “Catholic Connections” -- which airs on 1310AM weekdays at 8 a.m. -- shared a brief testimony during the reception about the impact the media can have on a culture.

“What we’re seeing today is how media can transform a culture to the negative,” said Tomeo, a veteran journalist in both the secular and Catholic media.

Programs like the Bishop’s Hour can do just the opposite.

Tomeo said that the Church has long been on the “front lines of really engaging the culture” and reminded the crowd that its use of the media is indispensable. Tomeo cited EWTN, the world’s largest media network as an example, and mentioned the U.S. bishops’ recent guidelines for use of social media by Church leaders.

“We can transform the world one person, one soul at a time,” Tomeo said.

She underscored the need to transform listeners, Catholic or not, by citing a slew of secular studies reporting the amount of violent images children see, the amount of television people watch and other issues relating to promiscuity.

Tomeo cited another study that said only 33 percent of Catholics report attending Mass on a weekly basis, and of that, four percent say they’re involved in the Church.

Conversely, Georgianni, who works for Immaculate Heart Radio in Phoenix, shared results of an online study earlier this year by John Paul the Great Catholic University. Half of the 2,200 listeners who responded said listening to the radio station led them to be more involved in parish life.

Two-thirds said they were more likely to give to their parish or charity. Tithing has increased in other Immaculate Heart Radio markets, Georgianni said in an interview with The Catholic Sun.

When she speaks of the station to Phoenix Catholics, “The overwhelming sense I get is that parishes are extremely excited about Immaculate Heart Radio,” Georgianni said.

She noted that many say that radio apostolate was long overdue. What Georgianni hopes to do, especially with the Bishop’s Hour, is show them how 1310AM can be a voice for and extension of each parish.

Fifty-two percent of listeners said Immaculate Heart Radio helped them come back to the faith.

It gives non-Catholics the opportunity to hear the Word of God in the privacy of their home or car, said Sue Force, president of the Catholic Commerce Network Association in the diocese and a regular listener.

“Maybe they’re not ready to step into a church or contact clergy to ask questions…but listening to Immaculate Heart Radio is the first step,” she said.

The radio station, especially a locally produced program, also gives Catholic business owners a chance to promote their quality services, Force said, while enjoying quality programming with hosts who share “the same moral compass.”

“The Bishop’s Hour is going to help us engage our local community in a brand new way,” said Jennifer Ellis, media specialist for the Phoenix Diocese. She’ll help produce the program.

The final selection of a host for the Bishop’s Hour has not been made, but Catholics can send topic suggestions for future segments and guest interviews to radio@diocesephoenix.org.