Pope Francis sends well-wishes for Vatican Radio’s 90th anniversary

By Vatican News staff writer

“Dear brothers and sisters, happy anniversary.”

Pope Francis opened his message to Vatican Radio with those words of greeting.

He also thanked the staff, who hail from 69 nations, for their work and for “the love you put into it.”

“It is important to conserve the memory of our history, and to be nostalgic not so much for the past as for the future that we are called to build,” he added.

Discerning and disseminating truth

The Pope went on to praise the wide reach of the radio.

“Radio has this beautiful trait: it carries the word to the most distant places,” he said. “And it accompanies it today with images and the written word.”

Pope Francis then encouraged Vatican Radio employees to help spread the truth.

“Strive ahead with courage and creativity in speaking to the world, and thus build up a type of communication capable of helping us see the truth of things.”

To far-flung places

Vatican Radio was inaugurated on 12 February 1931 by Pope Pius XI.

He had asked Guglielmo Marconi to build a radio station to carry the Pope’s voice to the ends of the earth.