6 p.m. on December 20. The introduction of WVSG was part of a series of station acquisitions and deacquisitions by St. Gabriel Radio, Inc. in its work to provide Catholic programming for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus. Named for the Archangel Gabriel – the patron saint of communication workers – St. Gabriel Radio initially purchased WUCO 1270 kHz (now WDLR) in Marysville in 2005 from Frontier Broadcasting. WUCO became the first full-time Catholic radio station licensed in Ohio since Cleveland's WMIH (now WCCR) was sold to Radio Disney in 1998. After this purchase, WUCO's studios and offices were moved from Marysville to Columbus, the diocese's hub, thus increasing its volunteer and listener base. In 2007, St. Gabriel Radio began simulcasting WUCO's Catholic programming over WVKO (1580 AM), under a lease agreement with station owner Bernard, Ohio L.L.C. WVKO's superior signal provided better coverage of the Columbus region than WUCO's less powerful directional signal. WVKO had previously aired a liberal progressive talk format, and the initial plan was that St. Gabriel Radio would eventually purchase the station. WUCO was sold in January 2010 to ICS Communications, and after Ohio State University announced that WOSU was for sale, St. Gabriel Radio decided it would purchase that station instead of WVKO. A fundraiser, "Leave a Legacy", focused on raising funds for the purchase. The transition of St. Gabriel programming from 1580 to 820 AM took place on at 6 p.m. on December 20, 2011, during the broadcast of "The Local Spotlight Show", which began that evening on WVKO and concluded on WVSG. WVKO (now WWCD) then began airing continuing announcements informing St. Gabriel listeners to switch to AM 820, until it returned to a progressive talk format at 6 a.m. on January 2, 2012. St. Gabriel Radio also owned and operated WFOT 89.5 MHz, licensed to Lexington and serving the Mansfield area as a near-simulcast of the AM station. WFOT made its on-air debut in February 2007. WFOT now broadcasts the programming of Annunciation Radio based in Toledo. St. Gabriel Radio's mission is to reach the entire Columbus diocese, and WVSG almost accomplishes this during the daytime hours, with the exception of the far southern region around Portsmouth. In January 2019, the southern coverage was improved by establishing a simulcast over WSGR 88.3 FM in New Boston. References External links Official St. Gabriel Radio website (with streaming audio) St. Gabriel Radio on