On February 12, 2026, the Church celebrated the 95th anniversary of the inauguration of Vatican Radio. The following day, UNESCO proclaimed World Radio Day with the theme “Artificial Intelligence As a Tool, Not a Voice.”
The inauguration of this new medium of communications for the Church came 2 years and a day after the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy establishing the Vatican City State. Only four days after the creation of Vatican City, the famous Italian-born radio pioneer, Guglielmo Marconi, was commissioned by Pope Pius XI to build the new country’s radio station.
The first transmission from the Vatican was in morse code to alert radio stations, ships, and anyone with the appropriate radio to prepare for the first ever papal radio message. Marconi introduced the pope and at precisely 4:49 PM on February 12, 1931, much of the world heard the pope’s voice for the first time. The pope had written the text himself in Latin. It was a message to people of all faiths as well as governments, sharing the Church’s message of peace and love. The pope assured all the listeners that his prayers were with the entire people of the world.
There have been many developments in communications in the intervening decades. In 1954, Pope Pius XII inaugurated Eurovision—eight European nations linked via radio and coaxial cable. This marked the beginning of live TV telecasts to Europe of papal celebrations. In 1974 the Vatican transmitted its first worldwide satellite telecast, allowing people around the world to witness the opening of the Holy Door and Christmas Midnight Mass.
Today employees of Vatican Radio come from 69 nations. It has gone beyond just radio transmissions, reaching audiences via satellite, streaming, podcasts, social media, video, and digital platforms as well. It does so in 56 languages.
For the 95th anniversary, Massimiliano Menichetti, of the Vatican News Service, interviewed the daughter of Marconi. The interview took place in Rome in the apartment “steeped in memories” as well as history. From this space, her father pushed a button to light up the statue of Christ the Redeemer located high above Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
According to his daughter, Marconi went to the Vatican every day to supervise the construction of the powerful Vatican Radio to reach people around the entire globe. “He wanted to present the pope to the world,” Marconi says of her father.
Princess Marconi mentions that the pope at the time, Pius XI, was very interested in inventions and wanted to know the details. She says the pope himself had the mind of a researcher. He would even telephone the Marconi residence to hear about the latest discoveries directly from Marconi.
A newsreel from Instituto Luce exists of the pope coming to receive the radio system from Marconi. This can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sda27wQqF8
Forty years later the Vatican Radio had outgrown is original center. In 1970 it moved to Palazzo Pio, located across the street from Castel San Angelo. Today this building houses the Dicastery for Communications.
