Mother Mary Angelica, 92,founder of EWTN Global Catholic Network, died Sunday, March 27, at the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Ala., which she founded in 1962.
According to EWTN , itis the largest Catholic media network in the world with 11 TV channels reaching more than 264 million homes in 145 countries and territories, as well as radio, online and publishing.
“This is a sorrow-filled day for the entire EWTN Family,” said EWTN Chairman and CEO Michael Warsaw in a statement.
“Mother Angelica succeeded at a task the nation’s bishops themselves couldn’t achieve," said Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia. She founded and grew a network that appealed to everyday Catholics, understood their needs and fed their spirits. Mother Angelica inspired other gifted people to join her in the work without compromising her own leadership and vision."
Mother Mary Angelica was born in Canton Ohio in 1923. After founding the Irondale monastery, her parish talks and approach to teaching the Catholic faith led to converting the monastery garage into a TV studio.
With $200 in the bank and no TV experience, she launched the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) in 1981. She was the chairman and CEO and took no paid ads to fund the network, according to EWTN, even though the network came close to bankruptcy more than once. Her show, Mother Angelica Live was launched in 1983 and episodes continue to air. She relinquished her chairman/CEO duties in 2000, suffering a stroke in 2001 and was no longer able to speak.
A Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. CDT, Friday, April 1 at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville.
Interment will immediately follow in the Shrine’s Crypt Church. The service will be broadcast on EWTN.
