San Diego priest Emmanuel Ochigbo, left, with JP2 Radio organizer Stephen Beuerle during a radio segment. (Courtesy photo)
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
A San Diego-based Catholic radio company wants to branch out with a new station on Oahu.
St. John Paul II Catholic Radio (JP2 Radio), which has four stations in the San Diego-area, is working with the Diocese of Honolulu and IHS Media to fundraise for the potential Oahu station.
The goal is an estimated $1.5 million, with $748,000 going to initial set-up costs including purchasing a station, equipment, licenses and permits. Another approximately $450,000 would cover ongoing costs like marketing, local program development and payroll. Sponsors and listener donations would sustain the station.
A lot of the Oahu JP2 radio station programming would include content syndicated from the San Diego stations but Stephen Beuerle, the JP2 Oahu Catholic Radio development officer, said local content would also be included. Most of the programming will be talk radio with minimal music.
Beuerle said an Oahu Catholic radio station would be a good source for local Catholic news and evangelization.
“We have listeners that tell us that they learned more in one month listening to our Catholic radio station than 12 years of Catholic school,” he said.
He cited statistics JP2 Radio has collected showing that the stations have helped Catholics return to their faith, grow spiritually, attend Mass more frequently, be more involved in their parish and better teach their children about their faith.
“It’s not like giving to Catholic radio is going to take from some other ministries,” said Beuerle. “It kind of helps all the ministries, especially because we promote all the ministries.”
In announcing the potential station in a letter, Bishop Larry Silva also emphasized the potential for faith formation.
“People in their cars, doing their housework, or lounging at the beach can tune in to radio and be nourished with living stories of the saving presence of Jesus among us today,” he said.
While Oahu doesn’t have a Catholic radio station, since 2014, a syndicated mainland Catholic radio station, Relevant Radio, formerly known as Immaculate Heart Radio, has broadcast from Maui on KCIK AM 740. On some parts of the Big Island, Lanai and Oahu, you might be able to tune in.
To learn more about Oahu Catholic Radio, you can attend a Zoom call with Bishop Silva on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. at us02web.zoom.us/j/2622824388 or visit oahucatholicradio.com.
