EWTN celebrates 25 years

Twenty-five years ago, it wouldn't have seemed too far-fetched that Alabama would one day be home to the world's largest religious TV network. This is the heart of the Bible Belt, after all. But, if someone had said that this global network would be Catholic - well, that might have raised a few eyebrows. There may be plenty of bibles in Alabama, but most of them are of the Protestant variety. In spite of the odds, though, the Eternal Word Television Network is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, and it is still based in the city of its birth - Irondale, Alabama.

EWTN was the vision of Mother Mary Angelica, who founded it back in 1981 with $200 and a garage for a studio. Her motto is "God will provide," and that He has. EWTN now reaches into more than 118 million households in 127 countries.

The story of Mother Angelica's vision and the "media empire" she created is the subject of a recently-published book by Raymond Arroyo entitled Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles. National Review Online published an interview with Mr. Arroyo back in December, 2005, and NRO's Kathryn Jean Lopez followed up with this piece shortly afterwards. (Lopez's interview with Arroyo is pretty entertaining, if for nothing more than the quips about Alabama...and Irondale, in particular. Ms. Lopez also wrote this outstanding profile - "Mother Angelica's Empire of the Airwaves" - back in 2001, for EWTN's 20th anniversary.)

For a shorter bio of Mother Angelica and a history of EWTN, be sure to check out Saturday's Associated Press article here.