By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
On Nov. 4, 2009, Msgr. Pablo Navarro was appointed president of Pax Catholic Communications, the archdiocesan entity that oversees Radio Paz. The press conference announcing the appointment took place Nov. 19.
MIAMI � He admits he has little experience in radio. But Msgr. Pablo Navarro says he will do whatever the Lord wants.
So effective this month, the pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Kendall took on additional duties as president of Pax Catholic Communications , the organization responsible for the archdiocesan radio station, Radio Paz, and other mass media projects.
�The archbishop was persuasive, and I figured I�ll do the best that I can,� Msgr. Navarro said after a press conference Nov. 19 announcing his appointment.
�If this is the will of the Lord, then the Lord will provide. And there are so many people here that are so wonderful and so talented,� Msgr. Navarro added.
Earlier, he had praised Father Jose Luis Hernando, pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Key Biscayne, for the work he had done as interim president of Pax Catholic Communications during the difficult weeks that followed the scandal-ridden departure of Father Alberto Cuti� in May.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Msgr. Pablo Navarro goes on the air at Radio Paz the morning it was announced that he had been appointed president of Pax Catholic Communications, the archdiocesan entity that oversees Radio Paz.
�With the support of thousands of faithful listeners, a wonderful team and family of dedicated board members, management, staff and volunteers, Father Jos� Luis Hernandez led this organization through difficult times in this transitional period,� said Jos� Fuente, president of the board of Pax Catholic Communications. �He showed all of us his dedication, his wisdom, his integrity and his enthusiasm. For these efforts, we will be eternally grateful to Father Jos� Luis Hernando.�
�I think he is going to do very well,� said retired Auxiliary Bishop Agust�n Rom�n, referring to Msgr. Navarro.
Bishop Rom�n has been a staunch supporter of the radio station, which he described as �the means we have to put the Gospel on the air.�
�The Holy Spirit has illuminated Archbishop (John C.) Favalora to name Msgr. Navarro,� Bishop Rom�n said.
Msgr. Navarro, for his part, said he would follow in Father Hernando�s footsteps by having �different spots during the week� on the air. He did not know yet whether they would be live or pre-recorded.
�I live in the country in Kendall,� he said. �It took me an hour and a half to get here today. I want to make sure that I don�t cheat the parishioners of St. John Neumann from the right to have a priest there, too.�
He added that he would follow his own advice in terms of making changes in the station or its programming.
�The first year in any place all you change is your underwear,� he said. �The first year you listen, you watch, you pray.�
�It was expected. It was needed. I think that with Msgr. Navarro God is going to take the station to another level,� said Isaul Gonzalez, chief operations officer for Pax Catholic Communications.
Gonzalez has been with Radio Paz since its inception. In fact, he co-hosted the early morning program, �Amanecer� (Dawn), which gave rise to Radio Paz in 1990.
He said Msgr. Navarro�s �style, his personality, his experience are going to mean the beginning of a new era at Radio Paz.�
Msgr. Navarro, a native of Havana, Cuba, who grew up in south Florida, was ordained in 1978 for the Archdiocese of Miami. He served as priest-secretary to the late Archbishop Edward McCarthy, rector and president of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach and pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Miami before being named pastor of St. John Neumann in 2000. He holds bachelor�s degrees in history and philosophy, master�s degrees in divinity and sacred scriptures and a licentiate in sacred theology.
Pax Catholic Communications has 32 employees and an annual budget of over $4 million. Monthly donations from listeners bring in two-thirds of that budget, and advertising revenue accounts for the rest.
Radio Paz airs 24 hours a day on WACC 830 AM. It is the only Catholic radio station in south Florida and was the first 24-hour Catholic Spanish-language station in the U.S.
�We served as an inspiration for others,� said Gonzalez.
Pax Catholic Communications is also responsible for Pax Net , which provides programming via satellite from south Florida and the Vatican to radio stations throughout Latin America; Radio Paz Musical , which airs Spanish-language Christian and popular music 24 hours a day on the Internet; and Radio Paz TV , which produces the Sunday Mass and a weekly program that air on Sundays at noon on Canal Sur, a cable station seen in Miami and Latin America.
Gonzalez said Radio Peace, which went off the air for financial reasons at the beginning of this year, will begin to air as Spirit Online Radio, a 24-hour Internet-based station, in December.
�We�re working very hard on a television project, Tele Paz,� he added. �We expect 2010 will be decisive for that ministry.�
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Msgr. Pablo Navarro, newly appointed as president of Pax Catholic Communications, speaks during Radio Paz's November fundraising marathon with Isaul Gonzalez,the station's chief operations officer, and Dariel Fernandez, master control operator.
