Guglielmo Marconi

Who would be more fitting to remember on the (old calendar) feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel, patron saint of communications?

Alas, my usual sources do not help me today. Fr. Jaki hardly mentions him, and he was too recent for Fr. Kneller to treat. Likewise Dr. Walsh - who would certainly have included a reference to him in his The Popes and Science. And though I have a full-length biography, I can't give you a summary of that today. However! A little booklet my father gave me for a birthday many years ago gives me enough to make known the message:

Marconi got his inspiration for radio while he was walking down the cloister of a cathedral. He dedicated his first broadcast to the Mother of God.

In 1909 Marconi received the Nobel prize in physics, and the whole world celebrated his triumph for his success in wireless telegraphy. It was Marconi himself who designed the Vatican Radio. One of the greatest moments in his life came on Feb. 12,1931 in Vatican City, when he helped Pope Pius XI make the first short wave broadcast to the world from Vatican Radio, Station HVJ.

Marconi, tall, elegant, and distinguished, stepped to the microphone and said: "For about 20 centuries the head of the Roman Catholic Church has made heard the word of his divine office in all parts of
the world, but this is the first time that his voice can be heard simultaneously and at the one time over the whole surface of the earth."

"With the help of God who places so many of the mysterious forces of nature at the disposition of man, I have been able to prepare this instrument which will procure for the faithful of the world the consolation of hearing the Holy Father's voice."

Pope Pius XI opened his 12-minute address in Latin, with the message first proclaimed by angel hosts over the starlit fields of Bethlehem, "Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will." Further on in his speech, Pope Pius XI quoted from the Psalms, "Incline your ear to the words of my mouth. Hear, all ye people, lend your ears, O all who inhabit the world. Hear the words of the Lord, and proclaim them to the distant islands." Millions listened, struck by the marvel which science had placed at the service of God, and deeply moved by the stirring challenge of the ancient words, so familiar, yet ever new.

Station HVJ was supervised with loving care by Marconi until his death in 1937. One of the largest radio stations in Europe, it is modern to the very last detail, and has powerful transmitters to carry the voice and commissions of the Holy Father to the ends of the earth. It broadcasts in 29 languages, including more than a dozen languages of nations behind the Iron Curtain.

Missionaries from remote regions of the world on their visit to Rome report with strong emotion how they and the faithful are stirred with the reception of a broadcast from HVJ. The broadcast begins with the sounding of St. Peter's great bell, followed by the words, "Praised be Jesus Christ."
[John M. Scott, S.J., Men of Faith and Science]

I think this is a wonderful line: "With the help of God who places so many of the mysterious forces of nature at the disposition of man, I have been able to prepare this instrument which will procure for the faithful of the world the consolation of hearing the Holy Father's voice."


P.S. I once had the link for a video clip of the actual event, but I was not able to locate it - it's out here somewhere, if you wish to go on a hunting expedition.