The Jubilees of the 20th century through the lens of the media

By Vatican News

A total of 400 audiovisual documents have been catalogued and will be showcased through the creation of a permanent and accessible database thanks to a collaboration between the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Mac Foundation aimed at recovering audiovisual materials that have never been studied or made public.

In the process, some 400 audiovisual documents have been retrieved from different archives and collections giving life to a permanent database that is accessible to all.

Expressing confidence that this initiative will aid scholars studying the history of the Jubilee Years, and shine a new light on them, Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, Vice-Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences and President of the Fondazione Mac, presented the project in the final days of countdown to the 2025 Jubilee.

A conference to illustrate the initiative hosted by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See also featured the presentation of a series of web documentaries entitled "I Giubilei Mediatici."

Introducing the first web documentary, which covers the period from the Jubilee of 1900 to that of 1925, Monsignor Viganò explained that the materials resulting from the work done to map audiovisual sources of the 20th-century Jubilees will be further showcased internationally in two key events:

"The first," Viganò noted, "will take place in New York this January, featuring a panel on 'Media Jubilees' at the annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association. The second initiative is the release of the volume Media Jubilees: History of the Holy Years through Mass Media, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in London."

"Beginning with the Holy Year of 1900, Jubilee celebrations quickly became extraordinary opportunities for the Papacy to engage with - though not always easily - the rapid development of audiovisual media," he said.

A communiqué, meanwhile, described the initiative as "A fascinating journey through the past century of Jubilees, as seen through the vivid and curious lens of mass media. From the earliest newspaper articles to black-and-white photographs that captured timeless emotions. From pioneering cinematic experiments, filled with wonder and discovery, to the advent of modern television, capable of bringing the magic of memorable events into the homes of millions.”