 Patrick Payton was born January 9, 1909 in County Mayo, Ireland. In 1928, he emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania with others in his family. After high school, he pursued theological studies at Holy Cross Minor Seminary in Indiana and then Holy Cross College in Washington, D.C. Payton would become ill with tuberculosis in 1938, and the prognosis was grim. He could choose to undergo a risky surgery or simply to pray. He chose the latter, and within a year he was on his way to recovery. Upon ordination as a priest, Payton was assigned to the diocese of Albany, New York, where he became involved in radio programming originating from Albany and Schenectity. Convinced by the power of prayer, Payton utilized some contacts he had developed in his area and he made a cold call to Bing Crosby to enlist his help in getting a new prayer-focused radio program on the Mutual Broadcast System. Payton may have been as surprised as anyone when Crosby said yes to his proposal, despite the fact the priest had limited experience in radio. And on May 13, 1945, Father Payton led a program featuring not only Bing Crosby, but New York's Archbishop Spellman and President Harry Truman. Payton's initial production was a success, and for the next two years he worked to get a regular feature on the airwaves. His hard work paid off through his family theater productions, and the radio series Family Theater debuted February 13, 1947 over the Mutual Network. It would be another year before it was heard on all the major outlets at a common time. As a sustained program, Father Payton worked hard to keep programming costs manageable and was always seeking donations to meet the show's budget. In the early 1950s, Payton's Family Theater productions expanded into television and attracted top talent just as the radio series had. New Family Theater radio programs ended in 1957, though it continued in reruns into the 1960s. However, the production company continues to produce films and web content to this day. In addition to media, Payton carried out many rallies over the decades that attracted millions of followers. Father Payton's health declined in the 1990s, and he died on June 3, 1992 in San Pedro, California. In 2017, Pope Francis declared him venerable, that is, heroic in virtue, which is one of the steps towards sainthood. Information for this synopsis is based on the program guide for Family Theater Every Home by Radio Spirits and written by Carl Shadow and from the website FatherPayton.org. For old-time radio researchers, I'm your announcer Patrick Andre. Thank you for listening.