In the 1970s, Archbishop John F. Whealon decided to start a radio station as a way to bring the Gospel to a wider audience through a format of inspiring messages and pleasant music. WJMJ says it is the first archdiocesan-operated radio station in the United States, signing on the air on December 24, 1976. The WJMJ radio studios were originally in Glastonbury, Connecticut. They moved to Bloomfield in the early 1980s. A fire tower originally stood where the WJMJ radio tower is located.
In 2009, the WJMJ studios were moved to Prospect, Connecticut, which also houses the Office of Radio and Television of the Archdiocese of Hartford. In 2018, WJMJ began broadcasting from a new tower at 1,430 feet (440 meters) in height above average terrain (HAAT). That gives the station a signal covering most of Central Connecticut and reaching part of Western Massachusetts.[2]
"Festival of Faith", the 14-hour block of radio shows on Sunday which included recorded worship services and talk shows produced by an assortment of area Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches was discontinued in May 2008. On Sunday, June 1, 2008, WJMJ began airing local Catholic programming, as well as material from the EWTN network. WJMJ also carries live Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on Saturday afternoons.
After many years of monaural broadcasting, FM stereo broadcasts began in January 2009.