Radio Lumen airing from Banská Bystrica is celebrating its 14th anniversary on April 7. Signal of this christian radio station appeared in the ether for the first time on Muandy Thursday April 7, 1993. Originally called Radio Maria was broadcasting by then only four hours a day. Signal from the first transmitter was not able to cover even the entire Banská Bystrica. In December 1994, the coverage was enlarged to districts of Banská Bystrica, Brezno, Zvolen and Detva; the programme expanded to a 6 hour broadcast under a new name Radio Lumen. In 1996, the radio was airing yet for 18 hours, currently it airs nonstop - 24 hours a day.
" Lumen has contributed to the radio choice by promoting christian values and a programme which couldn´t be found in another radio - it has been not only liturgical celebrations, but mainly a duly chosen set of programmes for chrisitians, non-christians, but equally for those who don´t follow any religious guidelines,"said the head manager of Lumen Juraj Spuchľák. As he added, the future goal is to maintain the so far trend, to form a more proffesional staff and programme, as well as to increase ability of radio to respond to current cultural and spiritual needs of its listeners. " We are trying to gather still more and more listeners. We would like to be the Church´s voice in the modern world," says Spuchľák.
The profile of Radio Lumen corresponds nowadays to that of a commercial radio station with evangelization character. It adresses primarily people from the age range 30-50, the ill and older listeners. Highlight of its programme is news, journalistic and religious programmes in public interest, that create nearly a half of the entire broadcasting time. Day airing is composed of commented blocks called Lumenáda and Lumenfórum which contain up-to-date information from political or cultural life. As the only one, the radio station offers a 30 minutes long Sport echoes for sports fans during a working day. News review from home and world, enriched by information from the christian world as well as the world of sport is broadcast on Radio Lumen daily for two times, and the holy mass is aired each day. A 40 minutes long programme for children entitled Tiny Light can be heard from the ether each day except Saturday. In the evening, the programme is dominated mainly by discussion programmes, in which take part some listeners, too; by means of textual messages and phone calls. Broadcasting workplace of the christian radio station is composed of one broadcasting studio and two recording studios situated in Banská Bystrica. It disposes of a completely equiped regional studio in Košice,too, from where are broadcast regularly discussion programmes such as History and us, Hotline talk or Through ears to soul. Besides the abovementioned places, Radio Lumen has its editors in Bratislava, Nitra, Trnava and Žilina. The station airs on 20 frequencies and covers 70% of Slovak territory by its signal.

TASR
05/04/2007

On Tuesday 20th March, collegues from Radio Proglas visited Radio Lumen. 16 employees of the Czech radio station visited at first the workplace and broadcasting studio of Radio Lumen. "The main aim of our visit is to get know each other. We have been working with employees of Lumen yet for several years, nevertheless, we don´t know each other personally, so we are concentrating to get to know each other in order to create increasingly better cooperation," stated the secretary of Radio Proglas Helena Bízová. Representatives of the both radio stations ensured each other in their common interest to develop the cooperation at all levels. The Czech Radio Proglas takes over regularly some programmes of Lumen such as Christian news, occasionally also some musical or spiritual programmes. The radios are currently cooperating the most intensly in journalistic area. On 28th October last year, the stations commemorated the 88th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovak state by an exchange of programmes. Guests from Radio Proglas were received also by the bishop of the diocese of Banská Bystrica Mons. Rudolf Baláž in the afternoon.

TK KBS
20/03/2007

After some positive feedback to the Priest Line, the management of Radio Lumen decided to offer another service to its listeners. By Tuesday, February 13, there will be launched the Lumen line. It will be available every Tuesday and Thursday from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm, e.g. on those days when the Priest line has a break. The calling persons can dial the phone number 0800 113 144 - that is free of charge- to get some information about the programme and projects of the radio, about the magazine Words from an open heart; or they can find out how to take part in the campaign "Lumen listener" or to become a member of Lumen friends club. The radio intends in this way to keep in touch with its listeners who regularly ask for the information about the radio in their e-mails or letters. As a matter of fact, it is not always possible to answer all the letters - to bear in mind the lack of time. The new Lumen line should help to communicate better.

TK KBS
12/02/2007

A priest on a phone line helps people to solve their everyday personal problems and spiritual personal problems, as well as to improve their knowledge of faith.
° Who and when created the Priest line?
Priest line has arisen from a common idea of the head manager of Radio Lumen doc. ThDr.  Juraj  Spuchľák, PhD.  and the diocesean bishop of BB Mons. Rudolf Baláž, who actively supported the project and who encouraged me to involve myself into this service.
° Who is it intended for and what is its goal?
Original goal of the Priest line was to go towards the listeners of Radio Lumen, who were many times calling to the christian radio in hope to get an answer to their problems. However, they often failed to get one, provided the fact, not all Lumen staff are professionals in Theology; and the answer required usually knowledge and experience of a priest.
° When can the listeners call?
The line is active on working days - Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm.
° How many people are usually calling during this time?
Some 5 to 10 people manage to get connected to the Priest line during these two hours.
°  Is the line anonymous or is it neccessary to introduce oneself?
The line is anonymous. On the other hand, people often introduce themselves - it is up to every single person. Usually, they tell me something about them, so I can understand better their problem and give them a more specific piece of advice.
° What regions are the most active in calling?
The calling person doesn´t always mention what region he/she is calling from, so it is hard for me to tell. But in my opinion, the majority of people call from eastern Slovakia and Bratislava and its surroundings.
° Is there a bigger number of young or old, of educated or ineducated callers - or vice versa? Are there any calling priests, too?
The young call considerably less than the older, however, their number is not at all insignificant. But the most regular callers are people from 50 to 70, they often have a university degree, as it results from disccussions with them. So far, there haven´t been any calling priests.
°  What are the calling people interested in? Do they want to help with solving a personal problem
or do they ask some serious theological or philosophical questions?
The majority of the calling want to fill in their knowledge gaps or to find a solution to their personal problem about which they are maybe ashamed of talking with their priest. It is common that they wish to discuss matters of their conscious - despite the fact talking on line doesn´t replace the confession. On the other hand, it seems that people who are searching for truth sometimes simply need just to have a chance to talk and hear some encouragement. In the end I usually pray shortly with such people and give them blessing. Sometimes people ask me also some difficult theological and philosophical questions that are real brain-teasers, but there is not a great number of them.
°  Do different cathegories of people ask different types of questions?
For example the young use to ask about the truths of faith, and questions regarding preparation for the married life... People of middle-age are solving their personal problems, life crisis,  problems with their partner or children. Old people often ask about those issues connected with the need of reaching peace in the soul.However, it is not possible to set it as a rule.
° Have you gained some interesting knowledge or some inspiration for your pastoral work as a result of this experience?
The faithful often talk about activities of their parish, what is highly inspirative. The critical remarks are also valuable -  especially those ones which point out to habits of some priests which can complicate significantly and even inhibit seriously the faithful from practicing and living the liturgy. If it is possible, I try to come to terms with such cases myself or I encourage the calling to do it himself/herself.
°  Do people express their opinion about the catholic media sometimes? What about Katolícke noviny (Slovak Catholic newspaper)?
They do. I put over the positive as well as negative feedback regarding the Radio Lumen immediately to the management. As far as Katolícke noviny is concerned, in some problem matters I can recommend the calling to read a specific article from it. I wonder it would be useful if Katolícke noviny created a short column of up-to-date information about the week; for example Friday 08/12 is an obligatory feastly day, so we are not bind to fast. Or:  This week, it is possible to obtain full pardon at that and that time and place, under those and those conditions. And so forth. Despite the fact similar  information is announced in churches, many people simply don´t get it or they don´t participate in the holy mass because of an illness or another reason. But while reading Katolícke noviny, they can better notice such information.
° Do you personally benefit from this service somehow?
Those people, who called me again after a week or two to thank me for our talk or my blessing, which had helped them to bear their life burden or to solve their problem, meant for me a very strong encouragement. God showed me also in this way, how amazing he is, and this persuaded me about the importance of this service.

25/01/2007 Katolícke noviny
editor: Jana Martinková

Radio Lumen wants to be even closer to its listeners. In addition to be an everyday companion, it offers a new service since Monday 6th November - the Priest line. Listeners can call at the phone number 0800 113 144 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm, in case they need and look for a spiritual counsel. These days, the listeners´questions will be answered by Mons. Ján Krajčík, the dean of parish Banská Bystrica - cathedral. All the phone calls will be anonymous. Listeners can address the Priest line with any problem they are coping with, eventually they can´t cope with. By November 15, it will be the calling who will pay for the call, after this date the calls will be at reversed charge, e.g. the payer will be in this case Radio Lumen.

06/11/2006

The main goals of the magazine Words from an open heart (Slovo zo srdca) are the need to inform better about airing of Radio Lumen as well as about activities of the foundation PRE LUMEN, and at the same time to be tightly connected with its listeners by means of a prayer. The magazine is issued by the non-profit organization PRE LUMEN, working under the radio, the mission of which is to create, develop, protect, renew and promote spiritual and christian values. Readers can find current topics from social, cultural or christian life there. Some anchors and editors of Radio Lumen are also authors of some of the articles. In this written form they promote their own programmes and interesting guests. "We want to provide you a more detailed information about those events, which deserve, as for us, some bigger space also in the magazine. Those are in the first place those events which couldn´t be talked about in detail on air. The magazine contains always the information about the programme of the radio. What is more, you can find there the correspondence between our listeners and the radio,"said the head manager of Radio Lumen Juraj Spuchľák in the connection with issuing the magazine. The authors don´t forget the tiniest ones who can find there a page devoted to them called Relax which contains the columns Hello, tiny lights and a fairy-tale. Recently there has been published already the third issue of the monthly Words from an open heart. In addition to the peace in the ether, its authors offer carresing of soul by printed words. The head manager of Radio Lumen Juraj Spuchľák wishes that the magazine contributes to the peace and life orientation of us all towards real and christian values.

09/06/2006