''The Angelus'' is an Irish

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and television religious programme, first broadcast in 1950, of the sound of an

Angelus FIle:Jean-François Millet (II) 001.jpg, ''The Angelus (painting), The Angelus'' (1857–1859) by Jean-François Millet The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnation of Jesus ...

bell ringing for one minute. On radio it is broadcast at 12midday and 6pm every day. On television, it is only broadcast at 6pm, immediately before the main evening news. Since 2009, the programme on television no longer includes Catholic imagery and the Angelus prayer itself is never broadcast. The bells were recorded at

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church (), known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, the Chapel in Marlborough Street or the Pro, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Archbishop of Dublin (Catholic Church), Catholic Archbisho ...

, although initially broadcast live.

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

first broadcast ''The Angelus'' on 15 August 1950. The Secretary of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs,

Leon Ó Broin León Ó Broin (10 November 1902 – 26 February 1990) was an Irish civil servant, known as a writer and playwright. He wrote many plays, stories and historical works in both Irish and English. Life He was born in Dublin, and joined Sinn F ...

, and the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

John Charles McQuaid John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive gover ...

, had discussed the original idea in the late 1940s. The Catholic broadcast has sometimes been challenged, while some non-Catholic faith leaders have called for its continuation, notably the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

(although less prominent than in the Roman Catholic church the Angelus is also part of the Anglican/Episcopal tradition) and the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. ...

. Archbishop Eames of the Church of Ireland welcomed the new version in 2009. The secretary of the mosque in

Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (; , meaning "meadow of the Crataegus monogyna, Whitethorn"), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access The district is adjacent to ...

and the Chief Rabbi supported keeping the broadcast. In 2010 Michael Nugent of Atheist Ireland criticised the broadcast of the Angelus on the state-owned broadcaster. He said that his organisation would campaign for a secular state where neither religion nor atheism was promoted by the state.

Television format

Televised programming began at Telefís Éireann's launch. Images shown were pictures of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

. More recently, it showed "a number of people of varying gender and ages pause to pray at the sound of the bell". Art 1970's until 1998 in color.

2009 relaunch

From 21 September 2009, RTE Television reformatted the broadcast before '' RTÉ News: Six One''. It features seven different editions, with a different person shown in each one. Featured people include a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

from

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...

, a mother from

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge () is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road (Ireland), N18 roads in Ireland, road. Locally, it is commonly called 'the ...

, grandparents feeding swans in Shannon, a fisherman from

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

and an office worker from Zambia at her office near the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

. The one-minute feature attracts an average audience of 318,000. It was developed by Kairos Communications.

2015 revamp

From 2015, a new form of the Angelus, ''The People's Angelus'', are transmitted on Fridays, produced by ordinary people, artists, and aspiring filmmakers. Angelus films produced by Kairos are transmitted on the other days of the week.Updating of Angelus films on RTE
iCatholic, 23 November 2015.

2023 revamp

Saturday to Thursday Angelus had a revamp in late May or early June 2023.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelus, The 1950 radio programme debuts 1950 establishments in Ireland 1960s Irish television series 1970s Irish television series 1980s Irish television series 1990s Irish television series 2000s Irish television series 2010s Irish television series Irish religious television series RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ original programming