In 1981, a Franciscan nun named Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation did something that most people in media would have called impossible. With limited funds, a small community of sisters, and a converted garage in Irondale, Alabama, she launched a Catholic cable television channel and declared that it would one day reach the world.
What would it look like if someone built the largest Catholic media network in the world from scratch, starting in a monastery garage in Alabama, fueled entirely by faith and stubbornness? That's not a hypothetical. It happened.
Meet EWTN: Global Catholic Media, Made in Alabama
EWTN, the Eternal Word Television Network, is today the largest religious media network in the world. From its headquarters in Irondale, Alabama, just outside Birmingham, EWTN operates a global Catholic television network, a worldwide radio network, a major Catholic news organization, and a publishing and digital media presence that collectively reaches over 300 million homes across more than 140 countries.
The network's programming covers the full range of Catholic life: daily Mass, the Rosary, news analysis, live coverage of major Church events, spiritual formation programs, documentaries on the saints and the history of the Church, pro-life content, catechetical series, and programming for children and families.
For Catholics who want to deepen their faith, stay informed about the Church, or simply find programming that reflects their values in a media landscape that increasingly doesn't, EWTN is a destination unlike any other.
Explore other Catholic media organizations, podcasts, and broadcasters across the country in the Discover Catholic Business directory.
How Mother Angelica Built a Media Empire
Rita Antoinette Rizzo grew up in Canton, Ohio, the daughter of a single mother in difficult circumstances. She entered religious life in 1944, took the name Mother Mary Angelica, and eventually helped found the Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels in Irondale, Alabama in 1962.
The monastery supported itself through various enterprises, including the production of fishing lures and religious goods. Mother Angelica had a gift for communication that became apparent through the booklets and pamphlets the sisters produced, and she began making local television appearances in the 1970s to discuss faith.
After a visit to a television studio in 1978 left her convinced that Catholics needed their own media voice, she pursued the idea of a Catholic cable channel with characteristic intensity. EWTN launched on August 15, 1981, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, broadcasting four hours of programming per night from a studio the sisters built themselves.
The network grew steadily through the 1980s and 1990s, adding hours of programming, expanding its satellite distribution, and building an audience of Catholics hungry for content that addressed their faith seriously. Mother Angelica herself became one of the most recognized faces in Catholic media, known for her direct manner, her humor, and her willingness to speak plainly about the teachings of the Church.
By the early 2000s, EWTN had grown into a 24-hour operation reaching millions of homes. Mother Angelica suffered a series of strokes in 2001 that gradually reduced her public role, and she passed away on Easter Sunday 2016. But the network she built continued to grow under the stewardship of the Eternal Word Television Network, Inc.
The story of EWTN is, at its core, a story about faith being put to practical use. Mother Angelica didn't know how to run a television network. She learned. She didn't have the money to build studios and buy satellite time. She raised it, often in ways that seemed improbable. The network's founding ethos, that Catholics deserve high-quality media that takes their faith seriously, remains the engine that drives everything EWTN does today.
Find more on the Catholic media landscape across Alabama and the Southeast in the Discover Catholic Business directory.
What EWTN Offers: Television, Radio, News, and More
EWTN's reach today extends far beyond the cable television channel that Mother Angelica launched in 1981. The network has grown into a multi-platform media organization with several distinct arms.
EWTN Television
The flagship cable and satellite television network broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering a mix of live programming and archived content. Daily Mass from EWTN's chapel in Irondale is one of the most-watched programs on the network, providing Catholics who are homebound, hospitalized, or otherwise unable to attend Mass in person with a connection to the Eucharistic liturgy.
Other signature programs include "The World Over," a weekly news magazine hosted by Raymond Arroyo that covers major events in the Church and the world from a Catholic perspective. "Journey Home" features conversations with converts and reverts to Catholicism, exploring the paths that led them to or back to the faith. "Father Spitzer's Universe" addresses questions of faith, science, philosophy, and culture.
EWTN's live coverage of major Church events, from papal audiences and World Youth Day to synods and beatifications, provides Catholics with a front-row perspective on the global Church that no secular network offers.
EWTN Radio
The EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network operates as a separate but complementary arm of the organization, broadcasting Catholic content across the United States and internationally. The radio network includes both original programming and content that mirrors the television network, providing Catholics who are commuting, working, or otherwise away from a screen with access to Catholic content throughout the day.
Radio programming includes news, catechesis, call-in programs, and music, with a particular emphasis on programming that helps listeners understand and live their faith in daily life.
National Catholic Register
EWTN acquired the National Catholic Register in 2011, adding a major Catholic news publication to its media portfolio. The Register, which traces its origins to 1927, is one of the oldest and largest Catholic newspapers in the United States. Under EWTN's ownership, it has expanded its digital presence significantly while maintaining its tradition of serious Catholic journalism.
The Register covers Vatican news, Church affairs, cultural commentary, and Catholic life across the United States and internationally, providing the kind of in-depth Catholic perspective on current events that secular news organizations rarely offer.
Publishing and Digital
EWTN's publishing operations produce books, devotional materials, and other resources aligned with the network's mission. The organization's digital presence includes a comprehensive website with streaming access to programming, a library of archived content, and digital news from the National Catholic Register.
The network's YouTube presence and social media accounts extend its reach to younger Catholics and to viewers in markets where cable and satellite access may be limited.
Why EWTN Matters for Catholic Life in America
The landscape of American media has changed dramatically since 1981. Hundreds of cable channels have come and gone. Streaming services have transformed how people consume content. Social media has both fragmented and polarized media consumption.
Through all of it, EWTN has remained a consistent presence. For millions of Catholics, it is the reliable source for daily Mass when they can't attend in person, for serious news coverage of the Church, for programming that helps them understand their faith more deeply, and for a sense of connection to the broader Catholic community.
This matters in practical terms. A Catholic family with access to EWTN has a resource for religious education that extends far beyond what any single parish can provide. A Catholic who is sick or elderly and unable to leave home has a daily connection to the Church. A convert or revert who is trying to understand the faith more deeply has hundreds of hours of catechetical content available.
The network also serves Catholics in areas where the local Church may be thin, small parishes, rural areas, dioceses still rebuilding, and people in mission territories around the world. EWTN's global reach means that the same content available in an American suburb is available in a village in Africa or a city in Asia.
The 46,000+ businesses and organizations in the Discover Catholic Business directory include media organizations like EWTN that are doing work with a reach and impact that extends far beyond what a conventional business profile can capture.
For Catholics interested in Catholic media more broadly, our guide to finding Catholic media, podcasts, and radio covers the range of options available for staying connected to Catholic content.
How to Support EWTN
EWTN is a nonprofit organization that depends on the support of its viewers, listeners, and readers. The network accepts donations directly, which fund both programming production and the distribution infrastructure that carries EWTN's signal around the world.
Subscribing to the National Catholic Register, either in print or digitally, directly supports EWTN's journalism operations. Choosing EWTN programming for family catechesis, parish formation, or personal faith development is itself a form of support, as viewership numbers influence the network's ability to negotiate carriage with cable and satellite providers.
EWTN merchandise, devotional products, and books are available through the network's website, providing another avenue for supporters to contribute while receiving something tangible in return.
Parishes and schools that want to use EWTN content for formation programs will find the network's website well-organized for finding specific programs, series, and archives suited to different audiences and purposes.
Business Info:
- Name: EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network)
- Founded: August 15, 1981
- Founder: Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation (Mother Angelica)
- Headquarters: Irondale, Alabama (near Birmingham)
- Services: Catholic television, Catholic radio, National Catholic Register, publishing, digital media
- Global Reach: 300+ million homes in 140+ countries
- DCB Listing: View on Discover Catholic Business
Sources:
- EWTN official website (https://www.ewtn.com/)
- "Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles" by Raymond Arroyo, Doubleday, 2005