On February 12th, 1931, exactly at 4:30 p.m., Pope Pius XI inaugurated Vatican Radio by delivering the first ever radio message by a Pope in Latin, in the presence of the inventor of radio and the maker of the station, the Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi.
Therefore, today marks the 92nd anniversary of the first radio broadcast by a Pope and the beginning of Vatican Radio’s broadcasts.
In addition to Marconi, the inauguration was also attended by the then Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII eight years later, and the Jesuit priest Giuseppe Gianfranceschi, the first director of Vatican Radio.
It was Marconi himself who announced the message of Pope Pius XI, broadcast in Latin, the first part of which was directed at all of creation:
“Being, by a mysterious design of God, the successors of the Prince of the Apostles, of those whose doctrine and preaching is destined for all people and all creatures by divine command, and being able to make use of Marconi’s admirable invention for the first time from this place, we address first of all all things and all men, telling them, here and henceforth, with the same words of Sacred Scripture: ‘Listen, heaven, and I will speak, let the earth hear the words of my mouth'”.
The Pope then addressed the distressed and persecuted, expressing his desire that “our word reach those who are sick, in pain, in tribulations and adversities, especially those who suffer such things at the hands of the enemies of God and human society”.
“While we offer our prayers for you and as much of our help as we can, while we entrust you to the charity of all, we tell you on behalf of Christ whom we represent: ‘Come to me all you who are tired and troubled, and I will relieve you'”.
Vatican Radio gained much influence during World War II. It began to broadcast in nine languages and became one of the few media that overcame the censorship of the time, in addition to spreading messages from families looking for missing people or prisoners who were in concentration camps.
Now, Vatican Radio broadcasts its programming in 40 languages and its studios are staffed by journalists from up to 60 countries.
