The World Family of Radio Maria Series

Radio Maria England’s priest director, Sam Randall, will be interviewing different members of the World Family of Radio Maria over the next few months. Each station has been a vital part in contributing to the starting of Radio Maria England and Father Sam would like to take the time to thank them for their generosity, prayers and guidance. Join Father Sam as he learns more about how each of the other members began the challenges they faced and continue to face today, and the blessings they have had on their countries.

Radio Maria was born in Italy. At the start, a parish radio station appeared in 1983 in Arcellasco d’Erba, in the province of Como, in the  Diocese of Milan. In January 1987, Radio Maria became independent of the parish and the Radio Maria Association was formed, made up of lay people and priests, in order to develop a work of evangelization on a larger scale. Radio Maria is indeed not the heritage of a congregation or a movement in particular, but an initiative of Catholics open to all ecclesial reality in communion with its Hierarchy. A lay person, Emanuele Ferrario, was instrumental in promoting this initiative. The basic intuition was to offer a powerful radio instrument to proclaim the Gospel and call for conversion, through explicitly religious programming, helped by volunteers and without advertising.  The World Family of Radio Maria was born in June 1998, and became an NGO recognized by the UN, with a legal seat in Rome. Its objective is the development of the missionary project, to respond to requests from all regions of the world, guaranteeing the authenticity of the brand, providing technical assistance to all Radio Marias, and promoting exchanges and mutual assistance between them.

Currently, 73 stations from five continents belong to this evangelization project, and the number continues to grow. This has created a formidable network of Catholic radio around the world that an African cardinal has called it “the gift of the Virgin to the Church”.

Each Radio Maria has an independent management in each country, but is united in religious inspiration, in the editorial line, in the fundamental importance of volunteering, in funding by donations from listeners, in the exclusion of advertising and in non-interference in partisan political debates.

Our hope is that one day, what we can consider as the “radio mantle of the Virgin”, will cover the whole world!

Episode 3 – Spain

Sunday 7 June Sunday 2am
Repeats:
Thursday 11 June 9am
Friday 12 June, 8pm
(view Radio Maria Spain)

Episode 4 – France

Sunday 14 June, 2am
Repeats:
Thursday 18 June 9am
Friday 19 June 8pm
(view Radio Maria France)

Episode 5 – Ireland

Sunday 21 June, 2am
Repeats:
Thursday 25 June, 9am
Friday 26 June, 8pm
(view Radio Maria Ireland)