Tele Radio Padre Pio
Tele Radio Padre Pio is the broadcasting station of the Capuchin Friars of the Religious Province of Sant’Angelo and Padre Pio, and broadcasts from San Giovanni Rotondo. It is a Catholic station, which starting from an analysis of what is happening in Italy and in the world, aims to spread the message of the Gospel through the teachings and experience of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
The station broadcasts its signal over the air in all of Puglia and Basilicata, and has entered into a partnership agreement with the national broadcasting station Padre Pio TV, which also broadcasts via satellite in Europe and the Mediterranean area.
Tele Radio Padre Pio is a thematic television channel exclusively addressing religious topics. It is not for profit and the little advertising that it presents is almost exclusively aimed at promoting the publishing products of the same Capuchin Brothers. It is mainly supported by the generosity of Padre Pio devotees.
According to a survey conducted by the Eurisko institute in 2005, Tele Radio Padre Pio is followed by people of both sexes and of different ages, educations and social backgrounds.
The programming schedule is based on the celebrations that take place in the sacred places of San Giovanni Rotondo. But there are also news programs, current affairs, culture, catechesis and reflections on the writings and life example of Padre Pio. The Angelus and the General Audience of His Holiness Pope Francis are broadcast Sundays and Wednesdays. The broadcasting of live images from the crypt is widely followed.
1987
Radio Tau was founded by the then student, Capuchin Brother Francesco Colacelli. The small radio station was only able to cover the city of Campobasso.
1988
Radio Tau merged with Radio Amica, which was founded in 1976 in Isernia by Capuchin Friar Luigi Marro, creating Radio Tau – La voce di Padre Pio, which was able to cover almost the entire Molise region.
1991
Radio Tau became a means of communication in the Capuchin Friars Religious Province of “Sant’Angelo – Foggia” to bring home the message of this great testimony of faith. Following this decision, in the following years other radio frequencies were gradually bought up in order to cover all of Abruzzo, Molise and northern Puglia.
2000
In January Radio Tau – La voce di Padre Pio also began to transmit via satellite throughout Europe. On 2 May of that same jubilee year, the Eucharistic Celebration on the occasion of the first anniversary of the beatification of the stigmatized Capuchin became the first television broadcast of a web-tv channel created as a branch of the radio station. From that moment, Radio Tau changed its name to Radio Padre Pio and the web-tv channel was named Tele Radio Padre Pio.
2001
In October the brothers acquired a license for television broadcasting in the area around San Giovanni Rotondo.
2002
On 9 February, the Minister of Communications, Hon. Maurizio Gasparri, officially inaugurated the transmissions of the small terrestrial broadcaster Tele Radio Padre Pio.
In June, on the occasion of the canonization of Padre Pio, Tele Radio Padre Pio carried out its first live program from a considerable distance by connecting with the Vatican to cover the event, all the preparatory phases and additional celebrations.
2003
On 22 September, the TV signal was broadcast for the first time via satellite, on the occasion of the prayer vigil for the “blessed passing” of Padre Pio. After passing a test phase, the satellite broadcasts began regularly on 21 December of that year.
2009
Starting on 13 October the program was the first to be broadcast in Italy on the iPhone via a dedicated application.
2011
On 22 September, with an authorisation signed the same day, Padre Pio TV began broadcasting as the national broadcaster of the Capuchin Friars of the Religious Province of Sant’Angelo and Padre Pio, with which Tele Radio Padre Pio holds a publishing partnership. Since that moment the channel has been nationally broadcast by satellite, and also spread via Internet in streaming and on mobile phones and tablets using the operating systems iOS and Android. Padre Pio TV has also got a Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube channel.
