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Vatican Radio was inaugurated by Pope Pius XI on February 12, 1931, with speech in Latin broadcast to the entire world. The day after the signing of Lateran pacts in 1929, the Pope entrusted Guglielmo Marconi to build a radio station inside the new state of Vatican City in order to be able to freely communicate beyond frontiers and speak to the Catholics of the entire world: in many regions of the world in fact, totalitarian regimes impeded the free life of the Catholic Church. Vatican Radio added more languages to its broadcasts. The radio in fact broadcast regularly at the beginning of the Second World War in nine languages.

During the war the Radio constituted an important source of free information. While Goebbels swore to silence Vatican Radio, broadcasts were secretly transcribed and distributed by members of the French Resistance. The transmission centre of Santa Maria di Galeria was inaugurated in 1957 by Pope Pius XII. Broadcasts to Africa, Latin America, and Asia were increased.

During the Pontificate of John XXIII, 3000 hours of broadcast were dedicated to Vatican Council II in 30 different languages.

Paul VI heartily encourages an increase in the production of high-quality informative and formative programmes. For this reason the Radio moved to new quarters in Palazzo Pio, at the beginning of Via dello Conciliazione. By 1970 the staff numbered 280 persons from 38 different countries broadcasting in 32 languages. With Paul VI the season of the great international papal journeys began and reached a peak during the pontificate of John Paul II. Vatican Radio travelled along with the Pope, broadening its horizons and international relations. With the advent of modern technology radio broadcasting has undergone rapid transformation.

During 1990s a huge step was taken from traditional Short and Medium wave broadcasting to Satellite transmission – with two ground station in the Vatican – and then to Internet. An ever larger number of radio stations – many Catholics but not all – can thus rebroadcast Vatican Radio Programmes in their own languages. In 2007 they numbered more than a thousand. Programme production has rapidly gone from analogue to digital.

FM: 5 – for a total of 100KW
Medium Wave: 7 – for a total of 1050 KW
Short Wave: 12 – for a total of 3015 KW
The radio has developed its own website (www.vaticanradio.org, www.radiovaticana.org). Vatican Radio’s Website most likely features more languages than any other website of the Catholic Church and provides information on the activity of the Pope and the Holy See in 34 languages.

The Indian section broadcasts in five languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Urdu. Vatican Radio programmes in fact reach a large number of listeners because about 1,100 radio stations, large and small, public and private, Catholic and Commercial, rebroadcast out programmes. The largest number is in Brazil.

Our South Asian programmes have a potential audience of more than two billion people. Their outreach is sub-continental, to 183 dioceses in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and also global, to the ecclesial South Asian community world-wide. English is a link in this enormous multi-cultural, multi-faith, and multi-ethnic Diaspora with its ancient rich, spiritual heritage. The South Asian Programmes of “The Pope’s Radio” enable its varied and scattered audience to be in touch with Church and world thoughts and events. Their unique Asian insight and multi-religious analysis attract not only Catholics, but also those of other denominations and religions. They unite people, regardless of age and of social or economic background, through their Church and world news, background analysis, youth features, spiritual reflections and interviews.

The Hindi Broadcast began in 1965 as a 10-minute capsule.