St. Peter's Basilica 2.0
The new magazine “Piazza San Pietro”
On the eve of the 2025 Jubilee, Pope Francis has instructed the two Capuchins who hold the reins of St. Peter's Basilica to modernize communication tools in order to better inform pilgrims and the media about the various activities of the Holy Year.
A new initiative was announced on November 25, 2024 in the press room of the Holy See, by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, and Fr. Enzo Fortunato, respectively archpriest and director of communication of St. Peter's Basilica.
"Our goal is to make the Basilica accessible to all, using modern tools, such as artificial intelligence, but always correctly guided and controlled," explain the two Capuchins to whom the Sovereign Pontiff has entrusted the keys to the Vatican Basilica.
The stated goal is to achieve "a deeper immersion in reality, for direct contact with the places, but especially with the visitors... in order to offer a more authentic, more complete, deeper, truer and more empathetic story to visitors.”
The first step: the publication of a new monthly magazine, the first issue of which is already available on the newsstands of the Vatican Publishing House. Piazza San Pietro intends to establish a permanent “dialogue” between the Roman Pontiff and his readers on topics such as “migrants, the challenges that families face, poverty…” and will be published in English, Spanish, and Italian.
The next stage will reveal the new custom-made font created by the specialists of the Studiogusto Institute, designed to “celebrate the beauty of St. Peter’s Basilica and its religious, historical, artistic, and cultural heritage,” explains Fr. Fortunato. It will be a unique typography whose vocation is to become the trademark of the Vatican basilica.
Then yet another digital platform will be created “to share the love of this sacred place and offer useful information,” as well as an open digital space within the walls of the Fabrique of St. Peter to allow journalists to be welcomed during the daily press briefings planned for the future Jubilee.”
Finally, two webcams will soon be installed to broadcast live images of the tomb of the Apostle St. Peter and the Holy Door, always with the aim of allowing an immersive experience for those who will not be among the 30 million pilgrims who plan to cross the threshold of the Vatican Basilica in the flesh.
“The Church has never been afraid to open up to new horizons and new frontiers, with creativity and courage, to proclaim the Gospel,” concludes the Director of Communication of St. Peter’s Basilica.
(Sources : Salle de presse du Saint-Siège/Vatican Insider – FSSPX.Actualités)
