Western New York’s only Catholic radio station will celebrate its 10th anniversary this weekend, and it’s inviting about 14,000 friends to join in the fun.

WLOF 101.7 FM, known as the Station of the Cross, will host an anniversary conference Saturday at HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The day-long event will feature numerous speakers, headlined by the Rev. John Corapi in what will likely be his only public appearance of 2009.

A former Green Beret who made millions in the L.A. real estate market before losing his lavish lifestyle due to a drug problem, Corapi has spoken at a handful of other WLOF events in recent years, said Fletcher Doyle, the station’s communications manager.

“He’s got great stories to tell,” Doyle said. “The story he tells is just heart-wrenching.”

Where Corapi’s story tugs at the heart, the story of WLOF warms it. Jim and Joanne Wright were challenged by Mother Angelica, founder of the national EWTN Catholic broadcasting network, to make EWTN programming available on the airwaves across upstate New York. The two founded WLOF in August 1999 in a couple rented rooms in Snyder.

Now operating out of the first floor of a Williamsville office building (Jim Wright’s dental braces business operates out of the second floor), WLOF features several local programs in addition to EWTN programming. Among those programs is the “Theology on Tap” series for younger Catholics, which has been hosted several times by the Rev. Mark Noonan of St. Amelia’s Church in the Town of Tonawanda.

“The station is very significant because in the past, people would learn about their faith through going to church or on their own initiative,” said Noonan, a St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute graduate who’s been at St. Amelia’s about 18 months. “Now, with the radio station, you just have something out there you can listen to, and it doesn’t take much. You just turn the dial.”

Many of Noonan’s parishioners listen to WLOF, he said, and he encourages every member of the diocese to tune in.

“It really provides a great opportunity to learn more about their faith — more good stuff about their faith — in a very easy manner,” he said.

Faith might have been the operative word entering the planning stages of Saturday’s conference. The stations had drawn a few thousand people to past events, but nothing close to this scale had ever been attempted, Doyle said.

“That building costs six figures to rent,” he said of HSBC Arena. “This was a huge risk (by the Wrights). It was more blind faith than anything.”

That faith has led to commitments from Catholics as far away as Nebraska and Australia to attend the conference, for which more than 10,000 of the 14,500 tickets had been sold as of late July. And those tourists will bring disposable income with them — about $8 million worth, according to estimates Doyle received from the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“They’re going to see Niagara Falls and the other local sites,” he said. “They’re coming a long way, so they’re not just coming for a day and going home.”

Such major events carry quite an impact, Noonan said. He was able to attend several Masses that were celebrated in Vatican City while he studied in Rome, and he was in St. Peter’s Square in April 2005 when Pope Benedict XVI was elected.

“For most of us, the biggest events we go to ... would be sporting events,” Noonan said. “That’s great, but when it comes to faith, that broad sort of experience ... is sort of a unique event that will provide a great spiritual opportunity for so many people. Being at those large-scale events is very exhilarating.”

WLOF relies on listener donations to survive — the station does not accept advertising — but that hasn’t stopped the Wrights from setting loftier goals. The Wrights intend to take any money leftover from the conference and use it to move the station’s tower closer to Williamsville so as to improve the station’s reception, Doyle said. Having acquired a station in Rochester in 2003, the Wrights also are working on obtaining frequencies in Syracuse and the Southern Tier, Doyle said.

“They’ve made real progress, but they’re not rolling in dough,” he said of the Wrights. “They believe in this.”

Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.



IF YOU GO

• WHAT: WLOF 10th anniversary conference featuring the Rev. John Corapi

• WHEN: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday

• WHERE: HSBC Arena, 1 Seymour Knox Plaza, Buffalo

• MORE INFORMATION: Call (888) 223-6000 or visit fathercorapilive.com



ABOUT WLOF

• NICKNAME: The Station of the Cross

• CALL NUMBER: 101.7 FM

• DETAILS: Founded in 1999, operated by Holy Family Communications

• LOCATION: 6325 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville

• CONTACT: Call (877) 888-6279 or visit wlof.net