EWTN Norway officially launched on Aug. 15, 2023.
Before its launch, EWTN Norway Editor-in-Chief Pål Johannes Nes took the network to a big, three-day event on July 28. He planned to film in five locations for the feast of Saint Olaf, the patron saint of Norway.
However, Nes experienced a major problem with his plans: his filming crew did not make the trip.
"I was all alone, we had five locations, three days of intense filming, and I didn't know what to do," Nes told ChurchPOP.
Nes said he first filmed a talk with a bishop launching a new book. "Everything went wrong" with the sound and production, the editor said.
Nes then decided to turn to Saint Rita and Mother Angelica for help. He received an unexpected, but incredible answer to his prayers.
"I went into the church and I sat down. I said to Saint Rita and Mother Angelica that I need them to help me because this will not work and we will embarrass ourselves for all of Norway.
"And I said to Mother Angelica, 'You have to send me some help.'
Upon leaving the church, Nes said he "opened the door" and "there came walking into the yard outside the church, a French platoon of Boy Scouts."
10 young men from a Boy Scout group named after St. Maximilian Kolbe then offered Nes their help for the next three days.
"I was just thinking, “Thank you Mother Angelica, and thank you, Saint Rita!”
Asking if they had experience using a camera, he discovered one of the Boy Scouts was a cameraman and the other was a French television producer.
Nes said they "knew everything about sound and production."
Pål Johannes Nes, EWTN Norway
"That was a true blessing. So from sitting in a church all alone, asking Mother Angelica and Saint Rita for help, I went out of the door, I found a French TV producer and a cameraman, and four other people who could help me during the next three days," Nes reiterated with gratitude.
"For me, this was a big miracle and it saved the whole three-day festival, which would have been completely impossible," Nes continued. "The last day, we did six camera productions in a big church with two choirs."
Pål Johannes Nes, EWTN Norway
"If Mother Angelica, Saint Rita, and Saint Maximilian Kolbe hadn’t sent me a platoon of Boy Scouts, I have no idea how we would be able to do that."
