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The television, which began in Italy only in 1954, was taken up by the Roman catholic church quicly. Before the arrival of RAI television the vatican had its own television station, set up for the Holy year of 1950, using swiss money. So early was this in the history of the European television that it was only in 1950 that the first cross- Channel television broadcast was made.
The vatican TV was dismantled at the end of the year to be restarted by John Paul II in the 1983/1984 season. Pius XII addressed on the mass media and their possible use by the church and this was one of over sixty speeches relating to the mass media in one form or another and many of these he wrote himself. However, following the lead of his predecessor, who had begun to travel outside the vatican, even if only in the State of Italy, Paul VI began to go on overseas trips.
He travelled to the Holy Land and addressed the United States in New York, he also built on the start made by John XXIII in attempting to dialogue with those of their faiths. The pope who followed Paul , John Paul I, was seemingly a media natural. In the 33 days of pontificate, films of his audiences show a man totally at ease with the medium, even though what he actually said often contained messages describing his unworthiness to be Pope and his lack of preparation for the job which had been placed upon his shoulders.
Guglielmo Marconi, who has been credited with the discovery of wireless communication as early as 1896, assisted in the construction of the first global radio network, which was completed in February 1931 to enable simultaneous communication with Roman Catholics all over the world.
The principal aim of CTV is to contribute to spreading the universal message of the Gospel by using television to document the Pope's pastoral ministry and the activities of the Apostolic See and this is coming from its statute of June 1st 1998.
The vatican television covers the daily public activities of the Holy Father and the main events that take place within the Apostolic See.
It distributes this footage to the press agencies and television stations that request it. The broadcast also distributes footage shot as part of the papal entourage during the Pope's trips abroad and coordinates special duplications centers within the press centers on these trips. Inside the Vatican, CTV offers assistance and facilities to foreign correspondents.