The Jubilees of the 20th century through the lens of the media
A docufilm series titled “I Giubilei Mediatici” (Media Jubilees) offers an original and unique perspective on the holy years of the 20th century.
By Vatican News
In total, 400 audiovisual documents have been cataloged and will be highlighted through the creation of a permanent and accessible database thanks to a collaboration between the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Mac Foundation aimed at recovering audiovisual documents that have not been never been studied or made public.
In doing so, some 400 audiovisual documents were recovered from different archives and collections, giving life to a permanent database accessible to all.
Expressing confidence that this initiative will help researchers studying the history of the Jubilee Years and provide them with new insight, Archbishop Dario Edoardo Viganò, Vice-Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences and President of the Pontifical Academy sciences and social sciences. Mac Foundationpresented the project in the last days of the countdown to the Jubilee of 2025.
A conference to illustrate the initiative organized by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See was also marked by the presentation of a series of web documentaries entitled “I Giubilei Mediatici“.
Presenting the first web documentary, which covers the period from the Jubilee of 1900 to that of 1925, Bishop Viganò explained that the materials resulting from the work carried out to map the audiovisual sources of the Jubilees of the 20th century will be further presented at the international level during two key events. :
“The first,” noted Viganò, “will take place in New York next January, with a panel on “Media Jubilees” at the annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association. The second initiative is the publication of the volume Media Jubilees: History of the Holy Years through the mass media, which will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in London.
“Beginning in the Holy Year 1900, Jubilee celebrations quickly became extraordinary opportunities for the papacy to become involved – although not always easily – in the rapid development of broadcast media,” he said.
A statement, meanwhile, describes the initiative as “a fascinating journey through the past century of Jubilees, seen through the vivid and curious prism of mass media.” From early newspaper articles to black and white photographs that captured timeless emotions. from pioneering cinematic experiences, full of wonder and discovery, to the advent of modern television, capable of bringing the magic of memorable events into the homes of millions.
