On the occasion of World Television Day, celebrated every November 21st, we remember the first televised message from a Pope.
This celebration, initiated by the UN since 1996, seeks to promote the responsible use of television as one of the main channels for disseminating public information.
On April 17, 1949, just over 74 years ago, Pius XII became the first Pontiff to deliver a televised message, which consisted of an Easter greeting in French. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Regardless of the memories of past pains, present sufferings, threats to the future, each year the feast of Easter comes to remind those who mourn, those who tremble, that Christ, dead and buried, has risen triumphantly, and for this reason on this day Christians exchange, with faith and hope, their Easter greetings and congratulations,” Pius XII said at the beginning of his message. “What satisfaction for our paternal heart to be able to exchange them with you, dear sons and daughters of the entire earth, in the intimacy of a communication that had not been granted to us to enjoy before!”, he continued. Pius XII highlighted the advancement of technology and how, a few years earlier, in 1931, it was Pius XI who first spoke on the radio, allowing “not only the word to be read, coldly engraved on the pages of newspapers, but from then on the voice of the Father would reach each of his children.”
Returning to his reflection on television, Pope Pius XII exclaimed: “How will it be when the universe can directly witness, at the very moment they are carried out, the manifestations of Catholic life!”
“It has been told to the world that religion is in decline, and with the aid of this new wonder, the world will see the grand triumphs of the Eucharist and of Mary,” assured the Holy Father. Pope Pius XII then expressed that with Christ’s triumph over death, “the disenchanted world will raise its eyes, will gaze ecstatically at the light that shines from the maternal brow of the Church, and will give glory to God.”
“May our voice, beloved sons and daughters, reach your ears once more, that at the same time, for the first time, our gaze and yours meet in the exchange of paternal and filial affection, while, on this Easter solemnity, we send to each one our best wishes for holy joy,” he concluded.
In April 2019, Pope Francis remembered the message of Pius XII.
“I enjoy recalling that 70 years ago, exactly on Easter in 1949, a Pope spoke for the first time on television. Venerable Pius XII spoke to the viewers of French TV, underlining how the gazes of the Successor of Peter and those of the faithful could meet through a new means of communication”, he said.
This article originally appeared on November 21, 2021. It has been updated for its new publication.
