WHITESTONE — Hers was a voice that listeners of 1010 WINS looked forward to hearing. Now that her tenure at New York’s all-news radio station has come to an end, Sister Camille D’Arienzo is looking back at her years at the station with fondness.
Sister Camille, 92, a member of the Sisters of Mercy who lives in Whitestone, offered her final commentary on 1010 WINS on Sunday, June 1.
For more than five decades, she had been a fixture at the station, offering minute-long commentaries every Sunday on faith, social justice, and other topics.
“I enjoyed every minute of it,” Sister Camille said. “I found that the microphone was my friend.”
When it came time for her final appearance, she delivered her commentary with her usual grace and understatement.
“I’ve had a long, satisfying run on this radio station — 52 years. I’m grateful for the welcome I received, for the friendships I’ve enjoyed, and for the response from our listeners,” she told the audience, “But as with all things in this life, there comes a time to say goodbye. And for me, that time is now.”
Over the years, Sister Camille delivered more than 2,000 commentaries, perfecting the art of making a well-thought-out, concise point in a limited time frame.
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“If you only have one minute, then you have to pick something that either everybody already knows something about, has an opinion about, or would be easily understood,” she explained.
It was 1973, and Sister Camille was teaching at Brooklyn College and occasionally writing for The Tablet when she heard from a friend, Father Howard Basler, that 1010 WINS had approached him with the idea of providing weekly commentaries.
“And he said to me, ‘I have neither the interest nor the voice to do that. But I think you do well.’ I was immediately intrigued by the idea,” she recalled.
As it happened, Sister Camille had just completed her doctoral dissertation on the career of Eric Sevareid, the legendary CBS radio and television commentator.
When she went to the 1010 WINS studio to be interviewed, she said there were three men sitting in a semicircle asking a lot of questions.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m ready to do this.’ One of them said, ‘We never thought of a woman for the job,’ ” she recalled.
Her reply was priceless: “I said, ‘Well, I’d like you to think of this woman.’ ”
She got the job and, over the years, has delivered her commentaries on the need for compassion in the public square, the importance of faith, and how every person can contribute to creating a better world.
Despite becoming somewhat of a radio star, she has never forgotten her roots. She remained active in the Sisters of Mercy, even serving a four-year term as president of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
While she has stepped down from her role at 1010 WINS, Sister Camille said she won’t be idle as the vows she took as a Sister of Mercy last a lifetime — “There is still so much work to do.”