The Manfredonias: Expanding the Catholic voice

By Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent

If there was ever a time to put into action the Pope’s call for more Catholic participation in the media, it’s now.
More and more talented Catholics are answering the call, including a Levittown couple whose voices are well-known to Philadelphia-area Catholics. Jim and Cheryl Manfredonia spent years behind the mic at WISP 1570 A.M. Now they are embarking on a new effort.
About a year ago, the Manfredonias created a new Catholic media organization, Domestic Church Media Foundation.
“We are presently negotiating with a radio station in New Jersey that would include this listening area,” Manfredonia said. “Mother Angelica of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) wants us to saturate the airwaves with Catholic radio, and this new station would certainly do that. Out of 10,000 religious AM- FM stations, maybe 60 of them are Catholic and the rest are Protestant.”
Catholics have their work cut out for them, but that’s no reason to avoid “going out into the deep,” Manfredonia said. Pope John Paul II has repeatedly stressed the importance of Catholic media as a tool for evangelization.
“We’re not converts, we’re not reverts. We’re cradle-Catholics who are trying to raise a family in a culture that is so anti-Catholic, so against our values,” Manfredonia said. “The majority of the people who listen to us are just like us. ... We’re not experts, but I think we have a pretty good gauge of what’s proper and improper. Our own kids are heading into their teens. Joseph is 16, Angela is 14, and Anthony is 11. I know what teens and their parents are facing.”
The Manfredonias have jumped head-long into the formation of Domestic Church Media Foundation, assembled a board, and accepted spiritual direction from Father Marian Zalecki, OSPPE; Msgr. Thomas J. Scanlon, and Father Andrew Apostoli.
Aligned with EWTN’s Global Catholic Radio Network, the Manfredonias identified a station in New Jersey and have entered into negotiations with the owners.
“The primary thing right now is getting the station,” Jim said. “Once we do that, we can start to distribute some of our shows to other Catholic radio stations.”
In addition to EWTN programming and the shows they produce from home, (“Come to Me,” “Catholic Music History,” and “Monday Morning Live”), the Manfredonias plan to produce after-school shows for children, young adult broadcasts, and live broadcasts of parish events.
“We have already gone into an elementary school and broadcast their May procession,” Jim said. “We also did live broadcasts of the open house at the seminary with Bishop [Michael F.] Burbidge and the seminarians.”
Another event they plan to continue is the annual retreat by Father John A Corapi, S.O.L.T., S.T.D., at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown. This year, Father Corapi spoke to a record crowd on the weekend of Nov.5 and 6.
“We had to open the choir loft to get everyone in,” Manfredionia said. “It was the largest crowd we ever had in the five years we’ve been sponsoring the retreat. There were probably 4,500 people here, and we did hardly any advertising.”
A new opportunity presented itself last summer, when Manfredonia noticed a lot of available space in the new addition to the shrine.
“It would be the perfect place for a Catholic media center,” Jim said. “I talked to the Provincial, and told him how easy it would be to put a satellite radio studio in there ... as well as a television production facility. We could actually produce quality, state-of-the-art, Catholic television right there, on holy ground. The location is outstanding. EWTN started out on monastery grounds as well. ... There’s certainly an opportunity to produce programs we could offer to EWTN or other outlets that air Catholic television programs.”
Manfredonia presented the idea to the shrine’s board of directors last August. “They loved it,” he said. “They thought it was a great idea.”
The cost of the facility would be modest, ranging from $10,000 to $15,000. A radio station, on the other hand, would require a half- million dollars.
“We’re not blessed financially,” Manfredonia said. “We’re hoping to find a group of Catholic business people who would be interested in helping us bring Catholic radio to 5.3 million people. Ultimately, their investment is in heaven, but this is a real-time opportunity to answer our Holy Father’s call to get more involved in the media.”
In the meantime, he is continuing to promote Catholicism. Until the Manfredonias can acquire the New Jersey station, Domestic Church Media is producing two programs on WTMR 800 AM — “Come to Me,” heard every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 p. m. to 1:30 p.m., and Cheryl Manfredonia’s “Catholic Music History,” every Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
In addition, they will begin airing a well-loved series that was made in the 1950s by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in his private study, “Ye Shall Know the Truth: A Catholic Catechism.”
“This has never been heard on radio before, and we are very excited,” Manfredonia said. “I just received permission to do this from the Keep the Faith Foundation.”
The show will begin airing in December on Fridays at 1 p.m. on WTMR 800 AM.
Individuals who are interested in learning more about the Manfredonias’ work may call them at (215) 269-4446, email them at jim@domesticchurchmedia.org, or write to them at Domestic Church Media Foundation, P.O. Box 192, Fairless Hills, Pa., 19030. All donations are tax deductible. You can also visit them on their Web site at www.domesticchurchmedia.org.

Contact Susan Brinkmann at fiat723@aol.com or (215) 965-4615