'On air'

By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

MIAMI | Heard the Good News?

Radio Paz 830 AM, the Catholic radio station of the Archdiocese of Miami, aims to share all kinds of “Good News” via the radio waves in AM and FM, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube live videos, their website, and through their app.

Msgr. Roberto Garza, director of Radio Paz since 2017, still holds true to the missionary vision of the founding director of Radio Paz, Father Federico Capdepon, who believed that the Church had to “go out to reach out.”

“I’m not going to limit. In this, we have to go out, we do go out, and we will continue to go out. We’re going to be the presence of Christ and also receive the presence of Christ from so many people that we get to meet,” Msgr. Garza said.

Radio Paz’s coverage is vast and varied — from the priesthood ordinations at St. Mary Cathedral, to the Pentecost-inspired concert “Fuego” at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July. They have covered multiple Marches for Life in Washington, D.C., plus World Youth Days around the world not to mention local daily events around the community.

In an upcoming episode of What the Faith, Miami? and Cuéntame Catolico — podcasts produced by the Archdiocese of Miami Office of Communications — Msgr. Garza and Mauricio Villalta, director of public relations and human resources, explained the journey of evolution and rebranding that Radio Paz has undergone over the last few years.

From two hours, to 24-7-365

In December 1990, Radio Paz went “on air” for the first time from a strip mall location in Miami. At the time, they only had a two-hour morning time slot, acquired through a secular radio station, and had the mission to evangelize in English, Spanish and Creole. Almost 34 years later, Radio Paz now produces programming in Spanish 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at their own studio location, with their own airtime, and through their own antennas and radio station. Msgr. Garza credited the Catholics of the archdiocese for their continuous support in helping nurture its growth.

“Radio Paz belongs to the Archdiocese of Miami. And when I say the archdiocese, I am not talking about the archbishop or the priests. I am talking about the people. The people sustain Radio Paz,” Msgr. Garza said.

“This is the radio of the people and for the people,” Villalta added.

When Msgr. Garza was appointed director in 2017, he had three fundamentals in mind. He wanted Radio Paz to establish personal relationships, to continue educating and spiritually nourishing listeners through scripture and the teachings of the Church, and he wanted a missionary approach of going out into the world.

Currently, Radio Paz meets all three of these goals every Thursday when broadcasters travel to parishes and ministries throughout the archdiocese and transmit live from 7:30 to 10 a.m. with Buenos Días Misioneros (Good Morning Missionaries), and in the afternoons from 4 to 6 p.m. with Con Dios al Volante (With God at the Wheel).

“I send a letter to all pastors, ‘We want to promote your parish, your events, anything. We’re here to serve you.’ And more and more pastors are taking us up (on the offer),” Msgr. Garza said.

It is a mutual relationship of sharing and promoting one another’s good works, he explained.

“We belong to the same Church. We need to support them and we need their support as well. Whoever invites us, whoever will have us,” Msgr. Garza said.

On a more spiritual side, Radio Paz’s programming offers daily Mass, different devotions like the rosary, the Divine Mercy chaplet, the liturgy of the hours, the lives of the saints, and reflections and messages from priests, Archbishop Wenski, and Pope Francis.

Villalta remembers one particular fundraiser of “La Obra” (“The Work”) at Radio Paz when a grateful donor called in with a special story. The man was an ex-inmate who had been gifted a radio during his time in prison.

“He told me, ‘One day, looking for something to listen to, I came across the rosary.’ Since then, he began to pray and meditate on the rosary, and changed his life in prison. He left accompanied by Radio Paz,” Villalta said.

Radio Paz offers family themed programs, like “Familia, Nuestra Iglesia Doméstica” (Family, Our Domestic Church), “Buenos Días Misioneritos” (Good Morning Little Missionaries), and “Caminando Con Los Hijos en la Fe” (Walking With Our Children in the Faith). There are also programs for youth and young adults, like “Visperas” and “Aqui Estoy Señor” (Vespers, and Here I am Lord), and programs for married couples Matrimonios en Victoria (Marriages in Victory), to name a few.

An integral part of reprogramming Radio Paz was the incorporation of more music by Catholic artists.

“When they spoke to me about music on Radio Paz, I said, ‘Yes! Let’s go.’ Yes, because you never know how a song will touch someone’s life,” said Msgr. Garza.

“Catholic music helps me loosen up and praise the Lord on another level,” said Villalta.

Msgr. Garza points out that once the soul is lifted, it is easier to listen. Radio Paz Music, found within the Radio Paz app, is a feature that contains uninterrupted Catholic music, giving users the ability to switch easily and freely between live radio talk show and music without having to leave Radio Paz.

Virtual pilgrimages and the future

When Radio Paz records a show with Archbishop Thomas Wenski, he always asks what’s new.

“He knows that we’re always thinking and dreaming of something new. And I know that it’s dear to his heart that we evangelize, and we do what we need to do. We’re the Church present,” Garza explains.

Among its innovations, an idea for virtual pilgrimages emerged. Its origins stemmed after the Covid-19 pandemic, when Msgr. Garza had to travel to Rome for an official meeting. Taking into consideration people that could not travel due to reasons relating to health, finance, or immigration status, he decided to convert the trip into a virtual pilgrimage, inviting his team to Rome to assist with production.

“We gave a list of every place that we would go so that people could pick their places if they wanted to. And so we went there, and I would kneel before Our Lady in places like Santa Maria Trastevere, and I prayed,” Msgr. Garza said.

As he did, Villalta filmed the moment. Other times on the trip, he transmitted live on the radio and streamed live on social media.

“I think that Christ is using us as a medium,” said Villalta. “We are crossing borders. It’s more responsibility for us when you’re expanding to that magnitude. It’s beautiful what God is doing, using us to evangelize.”

Growing up, Msgr. Garza shared that he was exposed to the world because his family traveled a lot. He has been to many cities across the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and Europe. In every stop, he experienced the people and the cultures of those places.

“To me, it’s the beauty of humanity. And I want people to experience what I experience. I want people who otherwise are not going to have this opportunity to experience it, to at least see it, to visualize it,” he said.

In 2023, in the second week of Lent, Msgr. Garza and his Radio Paz team went to Phoenix, and transmitted from the desert. One morning, Msgr. Garza even celebrated Mass in the desert.

This year, Msgr. Garza is planning to participate in three pilgrimages that will each have virtual coverage, including trips to El Salvador, Lourdes, France, and the Camino de Santiago Compostela in Spain.

Radio Paz intends to continue transmitting out in the world and beyond the studio.

“We live in such a visually-oriented society now,” Garza said. “We need to pass that barrier. Now we have that technology to do both, and we can do both.”

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Listen to Radio Paz

Listen to Radio Paz at 830AM and 96.1 FM, and follow them live on Facebook at facebook.com/@RadioPaz830AM/, Instagram @ radiopaz830am and YouTube, or download their app, Radio Paz 830 AM, in your Android and iPhone store. Visit paxcc.org.

You can listen to the full interview with Msgr. Roberto Garza and Mauricio Villalta on the special episode of the archdiocesan podcastWhat the Faith, Miami? Here.