The Angelus is to get a makeover, with RTE announcing the call to prayer will be updated to be inclusive of people of all faiths and none.

The Angelus has been a daily staple on the State broadcaster since 1962, airing at 6pm each day since RTE began broadcasting on television.

RTE said in a statement today: “Ireland has changed enormously over that time and the nature of the broadcasts has changed with it. They are now changing again.”

Starting on October 19 a series of short films will air, with the aim of making the broadcast “conducive to prayer or reflection for people of all faiths and none.”

In June of this year, when RTE announced a call for films for the revamped slot, the plan was criticised by Atheist Ireland, who said the continued use of the Angleus - a Catholic prayer - was "disrespectful to the philosophic convictions of many citizens (and) facilitates Catholic pre-evangelisation."

"As a national broadcaster with a public service remit, RTE should not propose that atheists and secularists should pause and reflect during a Catholic call to prayer. This is disrespectful to the philosophic convictions of many citizens, facilitates Catholic pre-evangelisation, and is contrary to Principle 5 of the BAI Code of Programme Standards," the group said in a statement released in June.

The films are from filmmakers and artists from across Ireland. They were shot across Ireland, from the Islandbridge memorial in Dublin to the Holy Well at Tobernalt in Co Sligo. There will be six in total and they will be shown in a daily rotation.

To go with these six films, each Friday at 6pm RTE One will air ‘The People’s Angelus’ slot, which will showcase “the work of aspiring filmmakers and artists in the wider community,” according to RTE. Those films will have to meet the same brief as the six commissioned films, and must be “conducive to prayer or reflection for people of all faiths and none.” The broadcaster will also consider work “that reflected minority faith festivals, beliefs and practices.” 

“The Angelus broadcasts on RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 have been a feature of Irish life and Irish broadcasting for decades and continue to offer a space for prayer and reflection in an ever changing, modern Ireland,” said RTÉ Genre Head of Religious Programmes, Roger Childs. 

“We are delighted to announce the six newly-commissioned films and The People’s Angelus slot on Fridays and hope that the Angelus will continue to afford people of all faiths and none some quiet space in a hectic day-to-day world.” 

Having began on RTE radio in 1950, and on RTE TV from its first broadcast in 1962, the Angelus was originally accompanied by Old Master paintings relating to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The broadcasts have changed over time, in an attempt to account for a more diverse Ireland.

RTE say the new Angelus plan, and the idea “of continuing to create space in the RTE schedules for contemplation, meditation, mindfulness or prayer,” has the backing of “leading figures from all the major faith traditions.”

A 2009 shift saw short films broadcast for the Angelus, featuring a range of people around in settings around Ireland, and never specifying their religious beliefs.