In 1981, Mother Angelica dared to “do the ridiculous, so that God can accomplish the miraculous” by transforming her Poor Clares’ monastery garage in Irondale, Alabama into a Catholic television studio broadcasting just 4 hours a day.
Anyone with any professional broadcasting experience would have told you on August 15, 1981 that it would be well beyond reasonable or even fantastic expectations to think that such a haphazard enterprise would become what is today the largest religious media network in the world. Oh yes, and it is all supported solely by donations and underwriting.
But Mother Mary Angelica was a cloistered nun, not a broadcasting professional. She simply said “yes” to God.
Armed with only a high school education, $200, and 12 cloistered nuns with no television experience, Mother proceeded turned the garage of the monastery she founded into...a television studio! EWTN received its FCC license on Jan. 27, 1981, making it the first Catholic satellite television station in the United States. A few months later, on Aug. 15, 1981, EWTN began broadcasting four hours a day to 60,000 homes.
Raleigh, North Carolina’s Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio, through its affiliation with the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network, is one of 500 domestic and international EWTN radio affiliates. WETC-AM’s affiliation is also part of EWTN’s enormous radio broadcast platform including worldwide shortwave radio, direct broadcast satellite; programming transmitted through SIRIUS/XM and iHeart Radio.
Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio, like EWTN, is 100% listener supported. We are an independent lay apostolate that does not receive financial support from the Diocese of Raleigh. Without the regular financial contributions of our wonderful listeners and the critical financial support of our Business Underwriters, WETC-AM could not stay on the air.
On this 40th Anniversary of EWTN, we pray you will consider supporting their mission with a donation to EWTN.
Finally, we also humbly ask that if you are not yet a donor to Divine Mercy Radio, please donate here.
Thank you for your support of our broadcasting ministries and may God bless you.
