Lenten campaign 2026
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On February 12, 1931, the first voice carried across the airwaves from Vatican City belonged not to a pope, but to a scientist. Guglielmo Marconi, entrusted by Pius XI with building the Church’s new communications instrument, announced that the Pope’s voice could now be heard “simultaneously over the entire surface of the earth.” Moments later, the Pope himself spoke in Latin, addressing “all peoples and every creature.”
Ninety-five years later, that bold pastoral decision still shapes Catholic media. What began as the Statio Radiophonica Vaticana has become Vatican Radio — a global service now operating at the heart of Vatican News — and marking nearly a century of broadcasting the Gospel, papal teaching, and human stories to every continent.
The first Papal broadcast
Pope: Pius XI
Language: Latin
Opening words:
“Qui arcano Dei consilio ad supremum Apostolatus apicem evecti sumus, per hanc mirabilem Marconianae artis inventionem, vos omnes et singulos, ubicumque terrarum estis, paterno animo salutamus.”
With these words, Pius XI greeted “all and each of you, wherever you are in the world,” inaugurating a new era in which the Successor of Peter could speak across continents in real time.
From the outset, Vatican Radio was more than a technical experiment. It was a deliberate embrace of modernity in service of mission. Pius XI recognized that technology could amplify the Church’s pastoral reach, extending the Successor of Peter’s voice beyond St. Peter’s Square and into homes across the globe.
Through war and peace, the station has remained on air. During the Second World War, it helped reunite missing persons with their families. Under totalitarian regimes, it offered information and encouragement when local voices were silenced. It documented the sessions of the Second Vatican Council and later chronicled jubilees, papal journeys, and the evolving life of the universal Church.
Today, Vatican Radio has served nine pontiffs and continues to report on conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, Congo, Myanmar, Yemen, and Syria, often highlighting the experience of local Christian communities. Its staff now represents 69 nations, producing content in 34 languages, along with a multilingual multimedia service. In many regions, especially where Christians are a minority, the Pope’s Radio remains a discreet but steady presence.
Since the communications reform initiated by Pope Francis, Vatican Radio has been integrated into the Dicastery for Communication, forming part of a unified media structure. The transition has required cultural and professional shifts, but its mission remains constant: service to the Holy Father and to truth.
Pope Leo's personal experience
He stressed how valuable Vatican Radio's shortwave broadcasts had been to him when he was traveling in remote areas of Latin America and Africa.
Shortwave — also known as “high frequency” — allows radio broadcasts to be transmitted over very long distances.
Vatican Radio, long attentive to technological frontiers, is exploring AI’s possibilities. Yet its leadership insists that algorithms cannot replace conscience, creativity, or moral judgment. Radio, at its best, is a human encounter—a voice shaped by conviction and accountability.
