Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN dies at 92

[PTBoardOp94]

EWTN announced this evening that their foundress Mother Angelica has died this Easter Sunday at age 92. Angelica and her order of nuns founded the Eternal Word Television Network in 1982. The network consists of a wide array of Catholic-based programming.

Mother Angelica is best known to viewers and listeners of EWTN's television and radio networks for "Mother Angelica Live". The show aired new episodes for 20 years (until Mother's 2001 stroke) and continues to air in re-runs.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/27/mother-angelica-founder-ewtn-dead-at-92.html

 

[davideduardo]

EWTN announced this evening that their foundress Mother Angelica has died this Easter Sunday at age 92.

I am curious why you changed the gender-neutral term "founder" from EWTN's own press release to the "dated and rare" (Oxford Dictionary) usage of "foundress"? It is such an archaic and uncommon usage I just thought I'd ask...

 

[PTBoardOp94]

The headline is taken from ewtn.org and the Catholic News Agency story to which they linked, on their Mother Angelica memorial page. I then linked to the FOX/AP story because the CNA included a quite lengthy obituary.

Link if interested: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mother-angelica-founder-of-ewtn-dies-on-easter-75329/

 

[crainbebo]

RIP to a Catholic religion legend. EWTN will probably be around for many more years to come, and there's a lot of people who watch that channel for their masses and programming on Pope Francis.

 

[davideduardo]

The headline is taken from ewtn.org and the Catholic News Agency story to which they linked, on their Mother Angelica memorial page. I then linked to the FOX/AP story because the CNA included a quite lengthy obituary.

Link if interested: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mother-angelica-founder-of-ewtn-dies-on-easter-75329/

It's an unusual word, probably quite fitting for a unique and unusual person who used modern technology to spread a traditional faith.

 

[davideduardo]

RIP to a Catholic religion legend. EWTN will probably be around for many more years to come, and there's a lot of people who watch that channel for their masses and programming on Pope Francis.

And many more who listen to EWTN radio and EWTN on Sirius/XM. Having programmed several stations of the Catholic Church, I have great admiration for EWTN and Mother Angelica.

 

[CTListener]

And many more who listen to EWTN radio and EWTN on Sirius/XM. Having programmed several stations of the Catholic Church, I have great admiration for EWTN and Mother Angelica.

EWTN is available on satellite to Sirius subscribers only. The channel is Internet-only for XM subscribers. SiriusXM also has an in-house channel called The Catholic Channel. I believe the New York Archdiocese has a big role in programming it.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I remember back in the early 1980s, when my consultancy was just getting started, I took a side job at a mail-order/800# home satellite equipment retailer (pretty much the only non-storefront retailer in that business at the time). We had a lot of flexibility in our schedules and could wander away from our desks for several minutes at a time if the incoming call volume permitted.

We had an area with several different receivers that we carried, connected to multiple dishes on the roof (10½' C-Band), motorized so we could shift any dish to any of the available satellites. The most popular cable networks were on RCA's Satcom-IIIR, and we were astounded to learn that this Catholic nun not only had her own program, she had a nightly transponder lease for a mini-network called Eternal Word which included not only religious programming (EWTN was the first place I ever saw a Bishop Fulton Sheen kinescope) but some family-friendly secular programming.

EWTN was only on for a few hours a day, but they were all prime-time hours. I had to admire her not just for taking the risk, but for having the savvy to know what hours to program.

And she was a very eloquent and natural program host as well.

Rest In Peace, Mother Angelica. You made a real difference in this world and I am certain you are being celebrated in Heaven for your good works.

 

[crainbebo]

EWTN was on Satcom III-R, transponder 18. Again, it was limited hours, as Reuters used it most of the day for videotext/data services.
Satcom 3R seemed to be the "birth" satellite for most of the cable networks. WTBS, HBO, CNN, USA, CBN, ESPN, etc. were all on 3R in the early '80s. By 1984 they were moving to Galaxy 1, and then to Galaxy 5 by 1992.

I am getting off topic, so back to the main discussion...

 

[K.M. Richards]

At the risk of going farther astray, I want to add something to that observation:

Satcom 3R seemed to be the "birth" satellite for most of the cable networks. WTBS, HBO, CNN, USA, CBN, ESPN, etc. were all on 3R in the early '80s. By 1984 they were moving to Galaxy 1, and then to Galaxy 5 by 1992.

The reason for Hughes' Galaxy 1 being the second "big" cable satellite was clever placement. Hughes applied for, and got, the orbital slot right next to Satcom III-R, which meant most cable systems could, with a modified feed horn, receive both birds without a second dish. (At least that's the way I remember the late John George, owner of Avenue TV Cable Service in Ventura CA, explaining it.)

 

[Silkie]

She started the network in the garage of an Alabama monastery.

The beginning of her journey home started on Christmas Eve 2001, and she was raised to life on Easter 2016.

She was one very hip nun.