Vatican Radio, a reference point for international broadcasting. History, facilities and broadcasts (exclusive interview)
Designed personally by Marconi, Radio Vaticana has been a key player in international broadcasting since the early 20th century, particularly in terms of technology. FM-world discussed this with Costantino Pacifici, who was Technical Director of the station for many years.
Laudetur Jesus Christus
As the centennial of the radio approaches, the director of this publication asked us to do a quick overview of amplitude modulation stations. We had the opportunity to interview Centrale Milano, AM Italia, and OMItaliane.
But we immediately had the idea to talk about the most prestigious of all European radio stations: the station of Radio Vaticana.
With the help of RAI, we managed to secure a direct contact that led to this exclusive interview, focusing on the peak “broadcast” years of Vatican Radio: when broadcasts from the Holy See were joined by those from Santa Maria di Galeria, and when stereo transmissions began on 96.3 MHz. Here’s the report of the interview with Dr. Costantino Pacifici, which took place in mid-October 2024.
The Interview
FM-world (M.H.B.): To start, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your work at Radio Vaticana?
Costantino Pacifici: My name is Costantino Pacifici, and I worked at the Technical Directorate of the Radio from 1975 to 2016, eventually becoming deputy director. Specifically, I managed the activities of the Santa Maria di Galeria center and the “historic” Marconi transmitting station in the Vatican.
Marconi Transmitting Station
FM-world: Let’s skip the early days, since it’s well-known that Marconi himself designed your station. I’d like to start later, around the war (mid-1940s). Santa Maria di Galeria wasn’t built yet. What type of service were you able to provide, and from which locations?
C.P.: From 1931, the year Radio Vaticana was founded, until the Radio Center at Santa Maria di Galeria became operational, all transmission activities were conducted from the Marconi transmitting station located at the top of the Vatican Gardens. The equipment included the original Marconi transmitter with 10/15 kW power, a Telefunken transmitter with 25 kW power, a medium-wave transmitter of about 2 kW, and three shortwave transmitters for radiotelegraphic services.
The antenna array consisted of dipole antennas and an omnidirectional one, with variable length depending on the frequency.
The Great War
During the entire period of World War II, the station was heavily involved in providing information on the activities of Pope Pio XII for Catholic listeners, as well as transmitting messages (it is estimated that 1,260,000 were sent) for searching for missing persons by their families from all areas affected by the conflict and/or the zones of imprisonment, spread across nearly the entire world. I recall a comprehensive article in the Osservatore Romano that can be found in that newspaper’s archive.
Toward the World, in the World’s Languages
FM-World: On October 27, 1957, Pius XIII inaugurated Santa Maria di Galeria. Consulting the Radiocorriere of January 14, 1958, it seems there was only one program that alternated between broadcasts in various languages, and those in Italian were apparently very limited:
C.P: By its own mandate, R.V. primarily used its resources for broadcasts directed to Catholics worldwide, as much as possible in their language. In 1954, the Marconi transmitting station operated in 24 languages. Only later, particularly with the advent of FM, was it possible to guarantee a longer program in Italian.
FM-World: What facilities were active in the 1960s?
C.P.: Regarding the Vatican Transmitter, the original transmitter was replaced in the early 1950s by a 50 kW Marconi transmitter, and for medium-wave, an RCA transmitter of 5 kW was installed, along with three shortwave transmitters of 5 kW for fixed radiotelegraphic services (telex).
Log-Periodic Antennas
In the 1960s, the antenna array was supplemented by two rotating log-periodic antennas from Coel of Milan. The radiotelegraphic service, which was still operational on the routes to Bern, Lisbon, and Beirut, ended with the closure of the corresponding station in Lisbon in 1992.
Santa Maria di Galeria
Santa Maria di GaleriaRegarding the new Santa Maria center, it initially had a 100 kW Philips transmitter, donated to the Holy Father through a collection by Dutch Catholics, two 10 kW BBC transmitters, and a BBC medium-wave transmitter. The center also had a modern curtain antenna system specifically designed for effective worldwide coverage.
The medium-wave antenna consisted of a guyed mast, 98 meters tall (lambda/2). In the 1960s, four additional 100 kW shortwave transmitters were installed, along with a second medium-wave transmitter of 250 kW.
FM Stereo
FM-World: When did you begin broadcasting in FM?
C.P.: The FM service in the Vatican began during the Holy Year of 1950 with two 250 W transmitters. For a short period, there was also an experimental television setup operating on the French standard (819 lines, likely provided or donated by Henri de France, Editor’s note). It was only in 1965, after the 1961 Stockholm Planning Conference, that another 5 kW transmitter was installed, capable of stereo broadcasts, along with another 2.5 kW mono transmitter.
FM-World: An article in Stereoplay magazine from March 1974 (issue number 20) recounted how the purchase of the stereo transmitter for 96.3 MHz was considered “a mistake,” but it turned into an opportunity to create the famous Studio A. We also recall a famous day when your frequencies overlapped with existing Roman stations, including Radio Radicale and Rete 105. Can you tell us about that period?
C.P.: After the 1984 ITU Conference in Geneva, we operated on the frequencies 93.3 MHz, 96.3 MHz, 103.8 MHz, and 105 MHz with new transmitters and a new antenna system capable of broadcasting simultaneously on all four frequencies. Due to the interference situation that had developed in the Roman airwaves, the frequencies were previously shifted to 93.0, 96.5, and 107.8.
Programming
FM-World: The 1970s and 1980s were likely the peak of shortwave popularity. How many services did you have, and what were the listening areas?
C.P.: To give you an idea of the shortwave and medium-wave activity in the 70s/80s, I’ve attached some pages from the “Programmes” publication of June 1975 (Downloadable HERE) with the broadcast schedule and programs for the first week of that month.
The previous year, “Studio A” had started, and the following year, the program “Quattro voci” was added to programs like Radiogiornale from 1957 and Orizzonti cristiani from 1945.
Vatican Radio Today
FM-World: Today, the Radio doesn’t have a standalone website but is part of a portal called Vatican News. By clicking on “channel” (at the top right of the page), a list of over 20 different languages appears. Which of these are also broadcast in shortwave, and how is the current organization of the radio?
C.P.: Regarding the current situation, the reference is the web portal where more than 30 languages are indicated as part of the programs, with different distribution systems (shortwave, satellite, DAB block 12D, TV radio channel 733, and the internet).
From the shortwave schedule, it is clear that around twenty languages are used for this service, and the targeted areas are the African, Asian, and South American continents. It should be noted that for many years now, the shortwave service has been conducted under an antenna time-sharing arrangement between international broadcasting organizations, aimed at optimizing these resources in terms of effectiveness and energy savings.
Currently, Vatican Radio is an integral part of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. (M.H.B. for FM-World)
