• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Helping to spread the gospel, St. Benedict Church parishioner and Loyola University Maryland graduate, Cody Barber, is seen May 11 at the mic of 92.7 FM-WVTO in Baltimore. Cody manages the parish radio station, which airs 2 – 10 a.m. throughout the week. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

From the bell tower of St. Benedict: Catholic radio evangelizes morning commuters

May 16, 2017
By Erik Zygmont
Filed Under: Evangelization, Local News, News, Parishes, Urban Vicariate

 

St. Benedict Parish in Baltimore is taking the Gospel to the airwaves.

Since March 4, WVTO 92.7 FM has been broadcasting Catholic content from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Baltimore area.

According to station manager Cody Barber, a 23-year-old parishioner of St. Benedict and graduate of Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, WVTO can be heard up to 6 miles from the church bell tower from which it is broadcast, though topography may affect the signal.

“It all depends on where you’re at and how the terrain is,” Barber said, adding that WVTO can be heard as far as Druid Hill Park, Glen Burnie, Catonsville and East Baltimore.

For now, WVTO broadcasts content from Relevant Radio, a national, listener-supported Catholic outlet, interspersed with station-identification announcements by Barber.

“I was a little shocked to hear his voice on the radio this morning,” chuckled Benedictine Father Paschal Morlino, his pastor. “He’s pretty knowledgeable. … It’s a wonderful job for him because he’s so creative.”

Father Morlino said he had been trying to secure a radio station for about four years.

“When the FCC opened up some frequencies, we got wind of it and started working on it,” he said.

The frequency is shared with two other entities, though neither has begun broadcasting. Father Morlino said the time slot is “not perfect,” though he is pleased to have morning commuters’ ears, and to have secured the slot in the face of “lots of opposition.”

He added that WVTO will include original programming in the future.

“We hope to have (Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori) on once in a while,” he said. “We’ll have things that are going on in the church and things that are going on locally in Baltimore. There are all kinds of events going on here – we would like to publicize those for ourselves, locally, and for the archdiocese.”

The WVTO studio is on the second floor of the St. Benedict parish center.

The call letters come from Father Morlino’s father’s name, Vito, which also means “life.”

The station joins a few other outlets in the archdiocese that offer Catholic content, including WCBM 680 AM and WQLL 1370 AM, both of which broadcast Mass on Sundays at 9 a.m., followed by Catholic Baltimore, a weekly program produced by the archdiocese. WCBM offers a second broadcast of the Mass at 6 p.m., followed by Catholic Baltimore.

From Hancock, WDTF 96.3 FM, broadcasts seven days a week, 24 hours a day, offering Relevant Radio content on weekdays and local and special programming on weekends.

Email Erik Zygmont at ezygmont@CatholicReview.org.

 

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Erik Zygmont

A journalist since 2005, Erik wrote for small-town publications in New Hampshire before he left for Germany, where he taught English for two years, starting in 2009. He moved to Baltimore and served as editor of the Baltimore Guide from 2012 to 2015. He then served as a staff writer for Catholic Review until August 2017 when his family made plans to relocate from Maryland. He currently serves as a freelance contributor.

Erik is grateful for the richness of the Catholic faith he has experienced since, owing both to his access as a journalist and the Baltimore Archdiocese being the Premier See.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

Latest Local News

New triptych icon has origins in Archdiocese of Baltimore

Sister Bernadette Wilson, L.S.P., dies at 71

RADIO INTERVIEW: Solemnity of the Assumption/World Youth Day

Baltimore-area groups awarded $356,000 in CCHD grants, speak of togetherness

Anna’s Gift Foundation helps hope bloom for hospitalized children

Latest World News

Digital world leaves some ‘hyperconnected and alone,’ Vatican official says

LCWR president outlines ‘map-shaping’ concepts for future of religious life

Principal calls vandalism at Catholic school in Washington ‘a hate crime’

Pope: Mary teaches primacy of humility over power, success

Pope warns Somalia at risk of famine, appeals for aid

Catholic Review Radio

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • God spoke to me through my espresso
  • ‘Do not worry about tomorrow’
  • Digital world leaves some ‘hyperconnected and alone,’ Vatican official says
  • ‘Esclavos y Reyes’ muestra la vida española de un santo en el siglo XIX
  • New triptych icon has origins in Archdiocese of Baltimore
  • LCWR president outlines ‘map-shaping’ concepts for future of religious life
  • Movie Review: ‘Slaves and Kings’ looks at life of 19th-century Spanish saint
  • Principal calls vandalism at Catholic school in Washington ‘a hate crime’
  • Más allá de la frontera, la espera para reunificación familiar es larga

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2022 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED