It is no coincidence that momentous things in our order always seem to occur on the Feasts of Our Blessed Mother, it is after all, Her Order and we are Her possession and property.

Today, on the Feast of Our Lady of  Loreto, Our Lady’s Radio Station, Radio CorMariae, WPMW, 88.5 FM New Bedford, MASS was granted a minor modification to our Construction Permit which allows us to install a highly directional antenna mounted on a cell phone tower overlooking the city center. It is a relatively small transmitter, with an effective radiated power of only 140W, but the location means that we should get a good strength signal covering most of New Bedford.

We will find out very shortly just how good our coverage is as Friar John will be arranging the installation of the antenna and the transmitter early next week and we will probably be testing our signal mid-week and be on the air and broadcasting (unofficially) on Thursday 16th December.

We rejoice with Our Blessed Mother on Her Feast day for the projected launch of the second radio station owned and operated by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in the United States and our heartfelt thanks goes out to all our benefactors without whom we can do nothing. Many thanks to the numerous volunteers who have worked tirelessly to fund raise for this project as well as work on the engineering and construction sides of the station.

Also many thanks to Steve Gajdosik of the Catholic Radio Association, Matt Wesolowski (engineering),  Stu Nolan (legal counsel), and Dennis Kelly (also legal counsel).

Dennis also gave us this little snippet so appropriate to today’s Feast and the launch of Radio CorMariae:

“In reviewing today’s traditional Roman Martyrology, I found the following reference to the Basilica of the Holy House at Loreto, Italy, one of the more memorable Catholic shrines I’ve visited:

“At Loreto in Piceno, the Translation of the Holy House of Mary the Mother of God, wherein the Word was made flesh.  Pope Benedict XV declared the same Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Loreto, to be the chief Patroness before God of all airmen“.”

Airmen – Hey, that’s us. AirMaria men. Airwaves men.

A very Blessed and Merry Christmas to you all.

Ave Maria!

The post Radio CorMariae, WPMW, 88.5 FM New Bedford – Cleared for Takeoff! first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Yesterday, 16 December 2010, was the unofficial birthday of Radio CorMariae. At around 5:30pm we jerry-rigged the newly installed antenna line, connected it up to the transmitter, and fired up the radio station for the first time. It was an incredibly joyful event as this was the culmination of over 2 years of hard work by a huge team of volunteers to get this radio station up and running – and we, the privileged few, got to enjoy the fruit of all that hard work – if only for a brief period of time.

Don’t get excited and tune in your radio to 88.5 FM yet! This was only our first test transmission and there is still a lot of technical and engineering work to be completed before we can go on the air full-time. Our official launch date is set for 25 March 2011.

A picture tells a thousand words:

All hands on deck to assemble the antenna.

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Dave, the “Tower Monkey” prepares to climb the tower.

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The antenna is hoisted up the tower.

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The “Jerry-Rigged” antenna line is connected to the transmitter.

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Frank Baptista fires up the transmitter for the first time!

We can’t thank all our benefactors enough – we can do nothing without your help and support. You are too many to be listed – you are all in our daily prayers.

Merry Christmas and long live Radio CorMariae!

Ave Maria!

The post The Birthday of WPMW, Radio CorMariae, 88.5 FM, New Bedord MASS first appeared on AirMaria.com.

by friar John Mary

We are pleased to show the looks of the new studio built for Radio CorMariae. After months of day after day work, corresponding to upwards of a thousand man hours, the studio is just about ready for use.

We are continuing to wire the final components in the two rooms: one main studio for the board operator along with interview personnel and another room for the production work on the audio files.

Most of the equipment is new, although the console, one of the most important pieces of equipment, is nearly a couple generations old.We are able to use this older console for now as we are learning to crawl in our radio station adventure. For now we are happy to use this one, not to mention the price is right ($0), but later, when we get into some heavy production work, we will need to buy a more state-of-the-art piece of equipment. Without even looking at digital ones, the still-in-use analog consoles start in the range of $5,000 to $13,000.

via Studio Nearly Complete.

The post Fi News – Studio Nearly Complete first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fi News #100 – FI co-founder visits Perth, Australia ( 05 min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Gabriel Pellettieri visited Perth again on what appears to be his “annual” visit.

Click here to see the AirMaria video from last year’s visit.

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The post Video – Fi News #100: FI co-founder visits Perth, Australia first appeared on AirMaria.com.

By Kenneth J. Souza

Anchor Staff

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — After more than two years of planning, preparing and fund-raising, the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate based at Our Lady’s Chapel in downtown New Bedford are ready to launch the first-ever 24-hour Catholic radio station in the Fall River Diocese.

On Friday WPMW — also known as Radio CorMariae — will make its official debut at the 88.5 frequency on the FM dial.

Operated by the Franciscan Friars in collaboration with the congregation’s lay apostolate, the Mission of the Immaculate Mediatrix, the new Radio CorMariae has secured the necessary licensing from the Federal Communications Commission for what is known as a “micro-FM” radio station and will broadcast within a limited range from Westport to Fairhaven within the greater New Bedford area.

According to Father Louis Maximilian M. Smith, F.I., father guardian of Our Lady’s Chapel and WPMW station manager, Bishop George W. Coleman will celebrate an evening prayer service beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, which will include Benediction. Immediately following, Bishop Coleman will bless the newly-constructed WPMW studio upstairs from the chapel and is expected to make a brief statement about the station launch.

The prayer service and radio station launch celebration is open to the public and will be broadcast live on FM 88.5 and also streamed on the station’s website at www.radiocormariae.com.

While the station’s schedule will initially include a mix of syndicated Catholic programming from EWTN Radio, Ave Maria Radio and Relevant Radio — all of which provide around-the-clock satellite feeds that Radio CorMariae can tap into — the hope is to eventually produce and broadcast local programming from within the diocese.

“Our initial goal has been to simply get the radio station on the air,” Father Smith said. “That’s where we’ve placed all of our initial effort and I think wisely so. With time, and depending upon God’s will, we hope to introduce in cooperation with other Friars at our institute more original programming that is produced for broadcast. Our ambitions are not too great at first. We are looking at the moment to offer simple programming that would include things like prayers and the like. Over time, as we are able to better concentrate on which direction we should go, then we will offer more original programming. This is our long-term plan at this point.”

With a transmission antenna based in Dartmouth, the broadcast signal for WPMW will extend from Westport to Fairhaven and cover the majority of the greater New Bedford region, centralized within the diocese.

“We’re happy with our frequency range,” said Friar John Mary, F.I. “We are not allowed to broadcast outside a certain range under our current permit. It drops off after you head north on Route 140. But the signal does carry into Freetown and some outlying areas.”

Friar John said there is a possibility they might be able to expand their coverage area in the future.

“If another frequency opens up or someone wants to sell their station, we’d be happy to negotiate with them,” he said. “We couldn’t just expand as-is, there would have to be a vacancy on another frequency in the area.”

With only six Franciscan Friars assigned to Our Lady’s Chapel and only two — Father Smith and Friar John — who are dedicated to ministering to the radio station, the order relies on a devoted group of laity to assist them in operating Radio CorMariae.

“We’re working with a dedicated group of laity who are very committed to helping us carry out various duties for the station including sound engineering and recording some small segments for broadcast,” Father Smith said. “We anticipate this cooperation between the Friars and the laity will continue and help us to move forward.”

In particular, Friar John credited sound engineer Frank Baptista, who previously worked at the UMass Dartmouth radio station, and Jim House for providing help with recording broadcast segments.

John Sweeney, a retired builder from Marion and a Third Order member of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, was also instrumental in helping to build the new studio for WPMW while Dennis Onofrey, a local stone mason, pitched in with construction and helping to soundproof the second-floor facility.

“Without their help, we would still be struggling,” Friar John said. “They have been fantastic to work with.”

Having been involved with various forms of communication media over the years, the Franciscan Friars are well-prepared to operate and maintain a 24/7 Catholic radio station.

“We follow the spirituality and charism of St. Maximilian Kolbe,” Father Smith said. “His inspiration was to use any and every legitimate means possible to evangelize. In particular, his goal was to bring souls closer to Our Lady, because he knew that this was the surest and shortest way to Jesus, who is our salvation. This is our underlying philosophy and it will be the underlying philosophy of this radio station. We want to bring people closer to Our Lady and help them live the fullness of the Catholic faith.”

The use of radio to spread the good news is also in keeping with Pope Benedict XVI’s recent call to use new media as an evangelization tool.

“The testimony of others who have jumped into Catholic radio over the last decade is that this particular means of communication has been very effective at bringing people back to the faith and in helping them to deepen their faith,” Father Smith said. “Just from that standpoint alone, it’s a powerful motivation for all of us who are called by the Holy Father to engage ourselves in this operation to the best of our abilities.”

WPMW is not alone in this calling as WQOM 1060 AM — also known as the Station of the Cross — was recently launched in the Archdiocese of Boston to provide similar original Catholic radio programming.

“With the proliferation of Catholic radio over the last decade, I think we are certainly seeing the fruit of a divine call at this particular time and a wonderful response on the part of priests, religious and laity,” Father Smith added. “We leave everything in the hands of God, but we hope by His grace to cooperate in bearing as much fruit as possible.”

WPMW is owned by the Academy of the Immaculate, Inc., a non-profit organization under the auspices of the Friary and will be operated exclusively by the Friars. It is also affiliated with AirMaria.com and has garnered the support of the Catholic Radio Association.

The post New Bedford-based Catholic radio station to launch March 25 | The Anchor first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The post first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Variety #135 – Radio interview with Fr. Gabriele Pellettieri ( 31 min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Joseph Michael interviews Fr. Gabriele Pellettieri during a visit to the friars in Perth, Australia. Fr. Gabriele, the cofounder of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, discusses Marian Consecration based on the example of St. Maximilian Kolbe who viewed consecration to Our Lady as not only for personal sanctification but the sanctification of all souls and ultimately the conversion of the world. There are many ways to express one’s Marian consecration, but Fr. Gabriele focuses on the Holy Rosary.

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Variety #135: Radio interview with Fr. Gabriele Pellettieri first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fi News #116 – Bloomington on air ( 05min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Our newest radio station, With Our Mother Blest, in Bloomington, IN – WOMB 89.9 FM Ellettsville (the community of license) – is now on the air at full power! In fact, it was cranked up to full power a few weeks ago, but we have been so busy with three AirMaria road trips for conferences and then to World Youth Day in Madrid, that we have not been able to get this post up until now.

This is the 3rd radio station on the air belonging to our AirMaria Radio Network, the first being Holy Virgin Mary Radio, 91.9 FM Owego, NY, and the second being CorMariae, WPMW 88.5 FM Bayview, MA.

We are still fighting to find a tower location for Holy Name of Mary Radio, WHNM 89.5 FM Pawcatuck, CT.

With Our Mother Blest, WOMB 89.9 FM, is a very strategically located radio station because it reaches the 42, 000 college students and 3,000 professors that are at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. Simply put, for the first time Catholic radio content will be delivered via this station to one of the major intellectual centers of the United States and of the world.

We are currently an EWTN repeater, rebroadcasting the EWTN Radio satellite feed 24/7 with our own top of the hour ID’s chiming in every hour to comply with FCC regulations, but we plan to build our own studio at the new friary in the winter and to begin to add more of our own content as we become more capable.

Ave Maria!

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The post Video – Fi News #116: Catholic Radio in Bloomington Indiana first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Simian Training Course hosted by Doug Pearson & WOMB 89.9 FM Ellettsville

Schedule:

Saturday 5th April: 

6:30am – Mass (Optional)

8:00am to 9:00am – Breakfast (Included)

9:00am to 12:30pm – Session 1

Overview of Simian

PC as a Broadcast Tool

Sound Card

Audio format

Audio Naming

12:30pm to 1:30pm – Lunch (Included)

1:30pm to 5pm – Session 2

Configuration

Sound Hound

Program Options

Hardware Options

Mixers

Scheduled Events

5:00pm to 7:00pm – Dinner (Included)

7:00pm to 9:00pm – Session 3

Event builder

Log building

Carts

Macros

Recording

Time shifting

Sunday 6th April:

6:30am – Mass (Optional)

8:00am to 9:00am – Breakfast (Included)

9:00am to 12noon – Session 4

Trouble shooting

Q & A

The post PHOTOS: Simian Training Course first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fi News #151 – ( 03min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

The friars from Mount Saint Francis Hermitage recently erected their new 160′ radio tower for the radio station they operate out of the friary in Maine, NY, Holy Virgin Mary Radio, WHVM 91.9 FM.

The erection of the tower completed months of preparation work over the course of the summer to lay a new foundation, pour new ground anchors, and assemble the tower on the ground before lifting it into position with a 200′ crane and securing it down. This occurred on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, October 2.

The upgraded station then went back on the air on the 18th October transmitting 160W effective radiated power from a 3 bay, half-wave, non-directional antenna with a center of radiation 150′ above the ground.

The station had been operating for the last 3 years with the antenna mounted only 45′ above the ground – a much less than ideal situation as we weren’t even above the treeline and the interference was noticeable.

The extra height from the new tower gives the station a much better coverage and is the mid stage in our planned upgrade to a directional antenna with an upgraded transmitter to get a much better signal towards the Binghamton area.

Yours in Christ and His Most Holy Mother

Friar Augustine Arts F.I.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – FINEWS 151: All 160′ for the Immaculate first appeared on AirMaria.com.