Franciscan Radio and the Catholic Communication Campaign are finishing a series of half-hour radio Lenten “retreats” for use during Lent in 2007. Each program—available in English and Spanish—will feature sacred music, a homily from a bishop, a prayer, a blessing, and an informal discussion about a Lenten theme based on the Sunday Gospel of the week. CCC will launch a companion web site to provide additional educational materials for the weekly retreats.

The bishops who have recorded homilies for the English versions are Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk (Cincinnati), Bishop Blase J. Cupich (Rapid City), Bishop Gerald R. Barnes (San Bernardino), Cardinal William Keeler (Baltimore), Bishop Joseph A. Galante (Camden), and Bishop Donald W. Wuerl (Pittsburgh).

The bishops who contributed homilies for the Spanish retreats are Auxiliary Bishop Felipe de Jesus Estevez (Miami), Bishop Ricardo Ramírez (Las Cruces), Bishop Gerald R. Barnes (San Bernardino), Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala (Los Angeles), Bishop Jaime Soto (Orange), and Bishop Jose H. Gomez (San Antonio).

The programs are available free of charge to radio stations and dioceses only. For personal use, please download the audio files from the web site, www.radioretreat.org or listen to the programs online at that same address.

Broadcasters/Dioceses:

For more information, or to sign up to receive the series, please contact Pat Garcia (pgarcia@usccb.org) at 202/541-3204.