Warsaw, Poland, Jan 3, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza has provided extensive coverage of that country’s latest national elections and has concluded that the “real winner” is Radio Maria, which played a decisive role in the victory of Poland’s new president, Lech Kaczynski.
According to the Periodico de Cataluña, the headquarters of Radio Maria in the city of Torun sees “a constant parade of government limousines,” as well as a steady stream of visitors who come to drop off donations, pray at the chapel or browse the station’s bookstore.
Last October, shortly after his nomination as head of government, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz paid a visit to Torun to participate in one of Radio Maria’s popular programs. Marcinkiewicz is a practicing Catholic and father of five children.
On December 7, when Radio Maria celebrated its fourteenth anniversary, Poland’s Prime Minister sent several high-ranking officials to participate in the celebrations.
Radio Maria is among the most popular stations in Poland and receives a large percentage of its financing from Poles who live in other countries but support the station’s work in their homeland.