Today’s educational visit was with Vatican media. There was some relatively old memorabilia around the press room from Vatican radio that was fun to look at.
It definitely added some ambiance. I had no idea Vatican radio started so early. Guglielmo Marconi actually helped to set up the studio and its equipment in 1931!. Who knew that the Vatican was such an early adopter of radio?
We also learned that Pope John Paul II sent email in 2001, Pope Benedict XVI started the first papal Twitter account (now under Pope Francis) and Pope Francis has the first papal Instagram account.
The Vatican staff also discussed the process/logistics for the Pope’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. In short, a team works to create the social media posts, they are then approved officially by Pope Francis before they are posted. This can take several hours. But clearly a lot of thought goes into every post and tweet that they make. In addition to the complex approval process, posts need to be made in a multitude of languages!
After the media visit (and lunch) we met with Katia again. She took us through the Vatican museums and then we experienced the Sistine Chapel on our own (since the rules dictate that you may not talk).
Katia then took us to visit the Basilica. It may be my third time there, but the experience is still awe-inspiring.
The Pietà is beautiful. I never get tired of seeing it.
Bernini’s altar is unreal. It is definitely a bummer that it was so wet and rainy. It really made it difficult to stop and admire the Basilica from the outside.
After the Vatican, Helen, Jan, myself and a select group of students had a special dinner with three notable media professionals. We met with Sylvia Paggioli of NPR, Seth Doane from CBS and Jordan Foresi of SKY. It was an incredible experience for us (as faculty) and the students. Listening to the journalists stories was really interesting. I got to know Jordan and Sylvia the best, particularly Jordan. He will be in Pittsburgh in September and we are going to try to arrange for him to come speak.
All in all, another great (but REALLY wet) day in Rome.