Catholic radio station launched in Ohio

Columbus, Ohio, Aug 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Catholics in the Diocese of Columbus finally have Catholic radio. St. Gabriel Radio Inc., launched the region's first Catholic radio station Monday.

Marysville's WUCO-AM (1270) was formerly a country music station.

Its mission is to “to evangelize, to educate fellow Catholics about their faith and to teach people the truth," said St. Gabriel Radio president Chris Gabrelcik in a press release.

St. Gabriel Radio is based in Mt. Gilead and was established as a nonprofit corporation. It plans to build a studio in Lexington and is negotiating to lease a station in Columbus.

Organizers are working to raise $2 million in startup funding this year and intend to rely on listener donations in the second year.

Presently, the station relies on programming from Eternal World Television Network (EWTN). In the long term, it plans to expand its programming to include other sources and Spanish-language programs.