On Sunday, July 7, 1974 viewers of Channel 6 WPVI-TV saw a Catholic Mass appear on their television screen. Ever since that day, those in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley who could not get to a church have found that Sunday morning broadcast on 6ABC to be their way to worship God in the liturgy.
“A great community way of showing how important religion is, and also making it so that those people that had gone to Mass all of their lives and they couldn’t go any longer, that they would get an opportunity to see Mass,” said Dr. Annette DiMedio.
Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Cooke reads a letter of gratitude by Archbishop Nelson Perez to Bernie Prazenica (left), president and general manager of WPVI-TV, 6ABC in Philadelphia, during a celebration Nov. 17 at Channel 6’s studios for the 50th anniversary of the TV Mass. Longtime producer of the TV Mass for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Annette DiMedio, observes at right. (Photo by Matthew Gambino)
“Dr. D,” as she is often called, has played a key part in those archdiocesan Masses for 35 years – 1,820 masses in total. She was at the station’s studios again this week to organize and minister during the taping of the Mass to celebrate 50 consecutive years of the Catholic faith on Philadelphia’s airwaves.
That Mass can be seen Sunday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 a.m. on 6ABC and will be archived for streaming on the station’s web site and various streaming apps.
Taped at the 6ABC studios on City Avenue, the Mass has become a labor of love for DiMedio. She finds a way to produce, coordinate volunteers, and minister through music for each broadcast while also performing across the East Coast as a pianist. She is also the music director at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Center City and for many years, a professor at the former University of the Arts..
Since 1989, the recording sessions of the Mass have become DiMedio’s chance to engender a faith-centered community for those creating the TV Mass experience, from the priests, lectors and music ministers to the production crew.
“They definitely make you feel like you’re part of the family,” said DiMedio.
“Even before you step into the studio, (you see) so many people have volunteered their services. (The priests, the parishes, the musicians, all of those people are coming and taking time out of their schedule to be a part of this Mass. (T)here’s that sense of generosity of spirit and service because they’re doing it for the love of (the Mass).”
While many of the television crew members have often remained constant over the years, some of the faces have changed – but not that spirit of service.
A priest and congregation of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia record the celebration of Mass at the Channel 6 studios on June 29, 1974. It was the first year of the continuously broadcast televised Catholic Mass, which marked its 50th anniversary this year. (Photo courtesy the Halvey Collection of the Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
DiMedio said that the Mass experience has even led crew members to convert to the Catholic faith. The impact of experiencing the Mass for those living in the nearly 3 million homes in the Delaware Valley may be incalculable.
“You’re talking about everything from a person’s home to a retirement center to hospitals. You have so many venues that are using this TV Mass as a way to have the experience of Mass if you couldn’t go,” DiMedio said.
She adds that often those who share the TV Mass experience with a relative who can’t leave their house, hospital or other residence have made it part of their own family tradition before going to Mass themselves.
“I just went to a reunion, and the one thing they said is that they were so thankful for this opportunity for the TV Mass to air because of their mothers and fathers and grandparents, because they had watched it through the years,” DiMedio said. “(It’s) not only just a service for the moment … you’re really impacting or influencing the people that love their religion.”
Often, DiMedio will get that same-day feedback from a viewer who later goes to Mass at St. John the Evangelist. But sometimes, the feedback comes days after it aired, from someone who watched that Mass at a critical time in their lives and found God’s healing presence.
“(People will) call me and tell me how much it’s made a difference in their lives, and for that one moment — maybe they were very, very sick — they were able to watch the TV Mass and how comforting it was,” she said. “When I hear the stories, I just always feel like that you become a part of their lives, maybe lives that I would have never experienced.”
Such is the difference that the 6ABC Mass has made since its inception 50 years ago, all by a crew of people over the years that have served millions of people’s faith over the decades.
“It’s the genuine aspect of us coming together and creating the Mass, not just the fact that it is a TV Mass,” said DiMedio. “It’s a group of people that really have come to understand and love each other through many, many years of being together.”
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