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Mother Angelica, founder of Catholic TV and radio empire, dies at 92 Mother Angelica, founder of Catholic TV and radio empire, dies at 92
(about 4 hours later)
Mother Angelica, who founded the Eternal Word Television Network, a globe-spanning Catholic television and radio empire, and who became known as the “zinging nun” as much for her blunt and peppery personality as for her defiantly orthodox religious views, died on March 27, Easter Sunday, at the monastery where she lived in Alabama. She was 92. Mother Angelica, who founded the Eternal Word Television Network, a globe-spanning Catholic television and radio empire, and who became known as the “zinging nun” as much for her blunt and peppery personality as for her defiantly traditional religious views, died on March 27, Easter Sunday, at the monastery where she lived in Alabama. She was 92.
The death was announced by her cable network in Irondale, Ala., which she began in 1981. Until she was disabled by a stroke in 2001 and withdrew from public life, Mother Angelica had hosted a TV show on the Eternal Word Television Network since she started the company. The death was announced by her Irondale, Ala.-based cable network, which she began in 1981. Until she was disabled by a stroke in 2001 and withdrew from public life, Mother Angelica had hosted a TV show on the Eternal Word Television Network since she started the company.
Widely known as EWTN, the network began in a converted garage behind a Catholic monastery Mother Angelica built from scratch in the early 1960s. Now on air for 24 hours a day, EWTN broadcasts orthodox Catholic teaching through Bible studies, religious movies and documentaries, children’s shows, discussions, sermons and call-ins to 148 million homes in 144 countries. Widely known as EWTN, the network began in a converted garage behind a Catholic monastery Mother Angelica built from scratch in the early 1960s. Now on air for 24 hours a day, EWTN broadcasts Roman Catholic teaching through Bible studies, religious movies and documentaries, children’s shows, discussions, sermons and call-ins to tens of millions of homes in 144 countries.
Mother Angelica — born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, and raised by her mother in a broken, impoverished home — became one of the biggest stars of religious broadcasting. In sheer charisma and devoted followers, she earned comparisons to the popular success of Bishop Fulton Sheen in the 1950s and 1960s. Her influence extended to the Vatican, where Pope John Paul II, considered a conservative on Catholic doctrine, was an admirer.Mother Angelica — born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, and raised by her mother in a broken, impoverished home — became one of the biggest stars of religious broadcasting. In sheer charisma and devoted followers, she earned comparisons to the popular success of Bishop Fulton Sheen in the 1950s and 1960s. Her influence extended to the Vatican, where Pope John Paul II, considered a conservative on Catholic doctrine, was an admirer.
The plump nun in the ankle-length brown robe and hair-concealing white scapular, with her high-pitched voice and frequent piercing cackle, drew audiences of millions worldwide with rambling discourses on faith and the Bible, cheery fundraising pitches and humorous maxims.The plump nun in the ankle-length brown robe and hair-concealing white scapular, with her high-pitched voice and frequent piercing cackle, drew audiences of millions worldwide with rambling discourses on faith and the Bible, cheery fundraising pitches and humorous maxims.
“Even the Apostles had a hard time with the Resurrection, didya notice that?” she observed during a 1997 show, referring to the Resurrection of Jesus.“Even the Apostles had a hard time with the Resurrection, didya notice that?” she observed during a 1997 show, referring to the Resurrection of Jesus.
Constantly struggling to raise money to underwrite EWTN’s multimillion-dollar budget, she displayed a table full of religious mementoes and art reproductions in a 1996 show and urged viewers to place their orders. Constantly struggling to raise money to underwrite EWTN’s multimillion-dollar budget, she displayed a table full of religious mementos and art reproductions in a 1996 show and urged viewers to place their orders.
“You say, ‘What’s in it for us?’ ” she said with a grin. “Profit — that’s what’s in it.”“You say, ‘What’s in it for us?’ ” she said with a grin. “Profit — that’s what’s in it.”
Margaret Thompson, an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University and an expert on Catholic women’s religious orders, said Mother Angelica “didn’t put herself up there as someone who was necessarily smarter or better educated.” Her approach was that “if these kinds of truths were accessible to her, then they were accessible to the average person.”Margaret Thompson, an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University and an expert on Catholic women’s religious orders, said Mother Angelica “didn’t put herself up there as someone who was necessarily smarter or better educated.” Her approach was that “if these kinds of truths were accessible to her, then they were accessible to the average person.”
Like other televangelists, Mother Angelica attracted critics troubled by her single-minded vision of the path to God. Her outspoken championing of orthodox Catholicism and her criticism of those she viewed as straying from the true path of faith earned her the enmity of many liberal Catholics. Like other televangelists, Mother Angelica attracted critics troubled by her single-minded vision of the path to God. Her criticism of those she viewed as straying from the true path of faith earned her the enmity of many liberal Catholics.
In a 1994 article in the National Catholic Reporter, Jesuit priest Raymond Schroth assailed Mother Angelica for what he considered her lack of intellectual sophistication. He cited her broadcast of the traditional Latin Mass, her belief in the literal reality of miracles and her skepticism of the liberalizing reforms of Vatican II in the 1960s.In a 1994 article in the National Catholic Reporter, Jesuit priest Raymond Schroth assailed Mother Angelica for what he considered her lack of intellectual sophistication. He cited her broadcast of the traditional Latin Mass, her belief in the literal reality of miracles and her skepticism of the liberalizing reforms of Vatican II in the 1960s.
“Anyone who watches EWTN will have to conclude that Catholicism is a Disneyland of pseudo-miracles, with a piety that exalts Mary over Jesus, more determined to squelch the Spirit than allow him or her to speak,” Schroth wrote.“Anyone who watches EWTN will have to conclude that Catholicism is a Disneyland of pseudo-miracles, with a piety that exalts Mary over Jesus, more determined to squelch the Spirit than allow him or her to speak,” Schroth wrote.
Mother Angelica engaged in long-running feuds with American bishops and cardinals who she believed were not sufficiently upholding traditional Catholic teachings.Mother Angelica engaged in long-running feuds with American bishops and cardinals who she believed were not sufficiently upholding traditional Catholic teachings.
One of the most famous examples came while watching EWTN’s 1993 broadcast from Denver of a woman portraying Jesus in a Stations of the Cross play at World Youth Day.One of the most famous examples came while watching EWTN’s 1993 broadcast from Denver of a woman portraying Jesus in a Stations of the Cross play at World Youth Day.
“I’m so tired of you, liberal church in America,” Mother Angelica fumed on the air. “You’re sick. . . . You have nothing to offer. You do nothing but destroy.”“I’m so tired of you, liberal church in America,” Mother Angelica fumed on the air. “You’re sick. . . . You have nothing to offer. You do nothing but destroy.”
In an editorial published in the Catholic Herald newspaper, Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee called her comments “one of the most disgraceful, un-Christian, offensive and divisive diatribes I have ever heard.”In an editorial published in the Catholic Herald newspaper, Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee called her comments “one of the most disgraceful, un-Christian, offensive and divisive diatribes I have ever heard.”
Mother Angelica’s biographer, Raymond Arroyo, reported that she shot back at Weakland: “He can go put his head in the back toilet as far as I am concerned.”Mother Angelica’s biographer, Raymond Arroyo, reported that she shot back at Weakland: “He can go put his head in the back toilet as far as I am concerned.”
In 1997, she essentially accused Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles of heresy. In 1997, she essentially accused Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles of heresy.
“The cardinal of California is teaching that it’s bread and wine before the Eucharist and after the Eucharist,” she told her viewers, which would have placed him in defiance of the core teachings of the Catholic church that the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ after consecration by a priest.“The cardinal of California is teaching that it’s bread and wine before the Eucharist and after the Eucharist,” she told her viewers, which would have placed him in defiance of the core teachings of the Catholic church that the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ after consecration by a priest.
Mahoney complained to the Vatican and, under pressure from Rome, Mother Angelica made a defiant on-air apology that satisfied no one and successfully resisted further attempts to placate Mahoney. Mahony complained to the Vatican and, under pressure from Rome, Mother Angelica made a defiant on-air apology that satisfied no one and successfully resisted further attempts to placate Mahony.
Rita Antoinette Rizzo was born April 20, 1923, in Canton. She was 6 when her parents divorced — a stigma in the Catholic Church — and her earliest experiences with religion were tainted by ridicule and hostility from priests and nuns.Rita Antoinette Rizzo was born April 20, 1923, in Canton. She was 6 when her parents divorced — a stigma in the Catholic Church — and her earliest experiences with religion were tainted by ridicule and hostility from priests and nuns.
She grew up with her mother, who was suicidally depressed. The home, she recalled, swarmed with rats. She felt no compassion from the nuns at her parochial school for her plight at home, and she fell behind academically.She grew up with her mother, who was suicidally depressed. The home, she recalled, swarmed with rats. She felt no compassion from the nuns at her parochial school for her plight at home, and she fell behind academically.
“I hated them with a vengeance,” she told Newsday of the nuns. “Not once during that time did anybody say to me, ‘Sweetheart, I can’t change your lot. This is going to be hard for you. . . . But I want you to know Jesus loves you.’ ”“I hated them with a vengeance,” she told Newsday of the nuns. “Not once during that time did anybody say to me, ‘Sweetheart, I can’t change your lot. This is going to be hard for you. . . . But I want you to know Jesus loves you.’ ”
At 21, she said she was cured of a painful stomach ailment by a Catholic faith healer, although her doctors were skeptical. “Unquestionably, that was the day I found God and really began to pray in an entirely new way,” she told the National Review in an interview.At 21, she said she was cured of a painful stomach ailment by a Catholic faith healer, although her doctors were skeptical. “Unquestionably, that was the day I found God and really began to pray in an entirely new way,” she told the National Review in an interview.
In 1944, she joined a cloistered contemplative Franciscan order in Cleveland, the order of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.In 1944, she joined a cloistered contemplative Franciscan order in Cleveland, the order of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.
A few years later, she injured herself severely while cleaning the floor of a church building and promised God that, if healed, she would build him a monastery deep in the Protestant South. (She did recover — although she depended on leg braces and crutches until she announced she was miraculously cured in 1998.)A few years later, she injured herself severely while cleaning the floor of a church building and promised God that, if healed, she would build him a monastery deep in the Protestant South. (She did recover — although she depended on leg braces and crutches until she announced she was miraculously cured in 1998.)
In 1961, she moved with four fellow nuns to Irondale and started a Poor Clares monastery. She raised money to start construction of the monastery building by selling $13,000 worth of fishing lures; it caught the attention of Sports Illustrated, which publicized her effort.In 1961, she moved with four fellow nuns to Irondale and started a Poor Clares monastery. She raised money to start construction of the monastery building by selling $13,000 worth of fishing lures; it caught the attention of Sports Illustrated, which publicized her effort.
Soon her outgoing personality and forthright style became the main selling point of the organization. By 1971, she was a regular on radio, and the sisters bought a used dubbing machine and began selling tapes of her talks. She recorded more than 100 audiocassette teaching tapes, published dozens of booklets and began taping a television series, “Our Hermitage,” which aired on Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network. Soon, her outgoing personality and forthright style became the main selling point of the organization. By 1971, she was a regular on radio, and the sisters bought a used dubbing machine and began selling tapes of her talks. She recorded more than 100 audiocassette teaching tapes, published dozens of booklets and began taping a television series, “Our Hermitage,” which aired on Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.
On a visit to a Christian network in Chicago in 1978, she saw her future.On a visit to a Christian network in Chicago in 1978, she saw her future.
“I walked in, and it was just a little studio, and I remember standing in the doorway and thinking, it doesn’t take much to reach the masses,” she told the New York Times in 1989. “I just stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Lord, I’ve got to have one of these.’ ”“I walked in, and it was just a little studio, and I remember standing in the doorway and thinking, it doesn’t take much to reach the masses,” she told the New York Times in 1989. “I just stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Lord, I’ve got to have one of these.’ ”
An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that the Eternal Word Television Network is located in Ironton, Ala. It is located in Irondale, Ala.
Salmon is a former Washington Post writer.Salmon is a former Washington Post writer.