(Vatican Radio) As leaders of the Catholic Church, popes have tirelessly called for peace. They have done so from the Vatican, from the United Nations headquarters in New York and during their Apostolic journeys abroad. Pope Francis has followed in their footsteps, he too repeatedly calls for an end to conflicts across the world.
As we mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War he also wishes to stress the importance of remembering. On September 13, he will travel to the northern Italian war memorial of ‘RediPuglia’, where he will pray for peace. It’s a tribute he says, to the fallen of all wars.
In the same way, over the coming year, at Vatican Radio our forty-five language desks will echo that tribute to remembrance in different ways, placing it within the broader context of the Church’s mission today.
Vatican Radio’s goal is to provide documented information regarding the role of the Holy See concerning the ‘Great War’, by shining the spotlight on the popes of that era, from Saint Pius X to Benedict XV.
Vatican Radio will also present interviews with historians, share the witness of individuals who lived through those tragic years: soldiers, ordinary people, future popes, like Saint John XXIII or key figures of the political, social and ecclesial context of the time.
We hope these contributions will help give a clearer perspective to the value of remembrance as well as to the role of the Holy See and the Catholic Church in promoting peace between 1914 and 1918.
Vatican Radio’s initiative is part of a broader project to mark the centenary of the First World War spearheaded by the European Broadcasting Union (www.ebu.ch). One to which other Public Service Media are contributing.
All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©. |