Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Popular News

HomeNewsVatican12 February 1931: Inauguration of Vatican Radio

12 February 1931: Inauguration of Vatican Radio

Vatican Radio turns 91. From our archives, a “sound picture” of Vatican Radio’s historic inauguration on 12 February 1931 takes us back to that memorable day with the voices of some of its protagonists.

By Veronica Scarisbrick

To mark and to celebrate World Radio Day, Vatican Radio looks back to its own inauguration by Pope Pius XI and Guglielmo Marconi on 12 February 1931.

In this programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick, you can hear a sound picture of that special day, with the voices of this Pope, of Marconi and his daughter Elettra, as well as the crackly sound of that very first historic broadcast.

By the way, this is one of the programmes we downloaded onto Pope Benedict XVI’s iPod when he came to visit us here at the beginning of his pontificate.

Popular News

Migration and Canary Islands: From a port of shame to a port of hope

In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pope Leo XIV will visit the Port of...

Pope Leo XIV: ‘The elderly can be life teachers’

Pope Leo XIV reaffirms the precious value of the elderly and their role as...

Pope Leo in Spain: Madrid’s uncontainable response

Our Deputy Editorial Director, Massimiliano Menichetti, describes the powerful display of faith, unity, and...

Pope at Angelus: We find our home in the Trinity

On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Pope Leo reminds the pilgrims gathered...