American Catholics are gearing up for a great event: Pope Benedict XVI is about to make his first visit to our country as pope. He’ll be in the media big time during his U.S. stay, and we here at American Catholic Radio (ACR) want to add our own “take” on the April 15-20 papal visit. This is a history-making time for American Catholics!

Our Franciscan Radio team is ready to help you prepare for the event. And, we’re lucky enough to have an almost-direct channel to a wise and experienced commentator on “things papal,” our good friend, U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley. Along with Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, official spokesperson for the U.S. Catholic bishops, ACR will cover the pope’s itinerary and put the meaning of his visit in perspective. This papal visit will bring the Holy Father into the secular spotlight and offer Catholics in the United States a valuable opportunity to evangelize. We are thrilled to be your radio and Web partner in the task of spreading the Good News.

Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.

Use the links below to preview the shows or download them in MP3 format for broadcast.

Highlights from this episode include:

St. Paul: His role in the history of the Church and in the writing of a good part of the New Testament will be highlighted in 2008, the Year of St. Paul.

Catherine Robles-Shaw paints retablos and altar screens, which display the lives of saints in the Church. She connects her Spanish background and her love of storytelling to her art.

Franciscan Father Hilarion Kistner responds to e-mail questions: What is the meaning of the term covenant? Did Jesus have to die to accomplish our salvation? Why will marriage no longer be necessary after our bodies are resurrected? Why does Jesus compare the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed?

The season of resurrection continues, and so does our “Bible Break” feature to help us appreciate the New Testament stories of the Risen Lord. Today, Jesuit biblical scholar Father Daniel J. Harrington will explore the word resurrection—and how it has been understood in the world of the Bible both before the time of Christ and afterward.

Cardinal John P. Foley highlights the purpose and impact of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States.

Highlights from this episode include:

St. Edmund Campion is another personality in our series of saints who became Catholic as adults. He came from England during a time of persecution. His faith received the ultimate test—and he was martyred for his beliefs.

The pope will meet young people with disabilities during his visit to the United States. Maura Weis, wife of Notre Dame University football coach Charlie Weis, has written a book, Miles From the Sideline, about living with their special-needs daughter, Hannah, and what a blessing she has been.

ACR host Father Greg Friedman answers e-mail questions: What role do nuns play in the Church? What does the Church say will happen when the world ends?

The Hebrew Scriptures, what we Christians call the Old Testament, and indeed the whole Bible, can be summed up simply as the story of our relationship with God. So many of the great stories in the Hebrew Scriptures help us to appreciate how God seeks to be close to us, his creatures. The Genesis story of Abraham is surely one such story. In Genesis 18, we hear about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s a colorful tale, but Professor Sarah Melcher lets us in on the basic insight behind the fire and brimstone: God is a God of justice, who calls us to model that same justice in our actions.

Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of Media Relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has covered the Vatican as Rome correspondent for Catholic News Service, and, during the 2005 papal transition, she was a Church spokesperson on national and international television and radio. She will discuss Pope Benedict XVI’s April 15-20 visit to the United States.