Radio Maria (formally known as The World Family of Radio Maria; es, link=no, Radio María, pt, Rádio Maria, hr, Radio Marija, mt, Radju Marija, lt, Marijos Radijas, hu, Mária Rádió, russian: Радио Мария, uk, Радіо Марія, known in Germany as ''Radio Horeb'') is an international

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the

diocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has l ...

, Italy, in 1987. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998, mainly based on the

Our Lady of Medjugorje Our Lady of Medjugorje ( hr, Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace ( hr, Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer ( hr, Majka Otkupiteljica), is the title given to visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which began in 1981 to six Herze ...

apparitions and messages, and today has branches in 86 countries around the world. Its mission includes

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

, devotions,

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

, spiritual assistance with everyday issues, information, music, and culture.

History

Its first broadcast facility was from a parish in Arcellasco d'Erba ( province of Como, Italy), but in 1987 it became a separate entity outside its home parish as an association of lay people and priests as Radio Maria Italia. In less than five years, it grew into a national Catholic radio network throughout Italy. Though not directly connected with the Roman Catholic hierarchy, it was founded as an instrument of the Church and as a tool for

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

, implementing and adhering to the teachings of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Initially it was inspired by the appeals made by the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

Fátima, Portugal Fátima () is a city in the municipality of Ourém and district of Santarém in the Central Region of Portugal, with 71.29 km2 of area and 13,212 inhabitants (2021). The homonymous civil parish encompasses several villages and localities o ...

, and in more recent years based on the Marian messages from

Medjugorje Medjugorje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Međugorje, Међугорје, ) is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about southwest of Mostar and east of the border with Croatia. The town is part of the Čitluk municipality ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, pleading for worldwide conversion. As such, Radio Maria is not subsidized or funded by the Roman Catholic Church; instead it is underwritten by listener contributions. World Family of Radio Maria

In 1994, the principal founder don M. Galbiati left Radio Maria and founded Radio Mater, also in Arcellasco d'Erba, as a totally separate entity. Since 5 September 1994 transmissions started in Albavilla in the province of Como. The

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

is diffused in the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

. Radio Mater is broadcast via radio in Italy, in Europe via satellite ( DVB-S Hot Bird), and worldwide via Internet ( WMP). Radio Maria Studio in Adliswil

00126jfWelcome Arch San Juan Pedro Vicente San Manuel Tarlac Moncada Highwayfvf 08

The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 out of its subsequent international growth in the 1990s, and pursuant to the 1987 speech by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in Saint Peter's Square addressing the need for a new evangelization. Emanuele Ferrario (inspired by the Pope's words to form a new evangelization) is the founder and president of Radio Maria, Inc., which has since grown into an association of 40 multilingual broadcast operations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Overall, Radio Maria operates approximately 1,500 radio transmitters worldwide.

Radio Maria USA

Its United States of America operation is one of the newest to join the World Family, in May 2000, with

KJMJ KJMJ (580 AM), also known as Radio Maria USA, is a Catholic American radio station broadcasting from Alexandria, Louisiana. It is the originating station of The World Family of Radio Maria's US operations, airing Catholic programming including ...

(AM) in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

, being the originating English-language station, together with a network of several FM and AM repeaters in Louisiana, an AM station in Port Arthur, Texas, on 1250 AM (

KDEI KDEI "Radio Maria" is an AM broadcasting station airing Catholic programming at 1250 kHz in Port Arthur, Texas. It is a repeater station of KJMJ 580 kHz in Alexandria, Louisiana. History In Brownsville KDEI's history begins not in Po ...

), and an FM repeater in Anna, Ohio. An AM repeater in Springfield, Ohio, east of Dayton, commenced broadcasting in June 2008 with new FM repeaters in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, coming on the air in June 2009, D'Iberville, Mississippi, and Peshtigo, Wisconsin, both in May 2010. Spanish-language and Italian-language programming is heard on FM

subcarrier A subcarrier is a sideband of a radio frequency carrier wave, which is modulated to send additional information. Examples include the provision of colour in a black and white television system or the provision of stereo in a monophonic radio broa ...

frequencies in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Chicago,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, New York City and Washington, D.C.. Italian-language programming can also be heard on the New York City FM subcarrier as well as French Canadian and English speaking services on FM subcarriers in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario. Audiostreaming is available from most of these stations.

World Family of Radio Maria

Radio stations in Europe

Radio stations in Asia

Radio stations in Oceania

Radio stations in Africa

Radio stations in the Americas

Programming

Programming mostly consists of traditional Catholic worship music, but some stations also air a mix of traditional and

contemporary Catholic music Contemporary Catholic liturgical music encompasses a comprehensive variety of styles of music for Catholic liturgy that grew both before and after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). The dominant style in English-speaking Canad ...

, along with various talk and teaching programs discussing the Catholic faith, frequent recitals of the Holy Rosary, novenas, and Masses.

Facilities

Radio Maria's programming mostly emanates from one centrally located studio or station in a given region or country, and is then re-broadcast (or "simulcast") on a network of repeater transmitters on the AM and FM bands. Some employ the use of a

, also known as SCA (for " Subsidiary Communications Authority") facilities of FM stations, requiring the use of a receiver designed to receive SCA signals. Since the emergence of the internet, audio-streaming has been used extensively as a means to help fill in gaps left by the unavailability of AM or FM frequencies in metropolitan areas already taken up by commercial, public, or other religious broadcasters. Starting in June 2008, there have been shortwave transmissions originating from Italy at 26 MHz and at 26.01 MHz DRM making it the only (and last) shortwave service originating in Italy besides

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

. There are presently no commercial satellite radio subscription services (such as Sky Digital,

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

or XM) of Radio Maria. However, its Spanish-language, Italian-language, and Polish-language stations may be available in some areas served by the Dish Pronto division of

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

, a satellite television subscription service.

References

External links