This World Radio Day, Vatican Radio celebrates 95 years with seven multilingual programs dedicated to the future of radio and the day’s theme that ‘AI is a tool, not a voice.’
On 13 February 2026, on the occasion of World Radio Day (WRD), Radio Vaticana – Vatican News promotes a special initiative in seven languages with seven radio programs that will become thematic podcasts dedicated to the future of radio, public service, innovation, and the relationship between media, society, and artificial intelligence.
The initiative comes the day after the 95th birthday of the Radio of the Popes: 12 February 2026. Founded in 1931 at the behest of Pope Pius XI and created by the father of radio, Guglielmo Marconi, the Pope’s broadcaster represents one of the oldest radio experiences in the world, born to connect the Holy See with every part of the planet and to speak to peoples, cultures, and languages that are different.
At the heart of the programs will be the theme chosen for WRD 2026: “AI is a tool, not a voice”. A statement that becomes a starting point for reflection and dialogue also in light of the Message of the Holy Father for the World Day of Social Communications 2026, which recalls the value of human responsibility, discernment, and the authentic voice in communication in the age of artificial intelligence.
The seven programs will involve international experts, broadcasting executives, scholars, innovators, and professionals from the radio and media sector, called to reflect on how radio, a profoundly human medium, made of voice, relationship, and closeness, can inhabit the time of AI without losing its own identity.
English-language program
• Fr. Felmar Castrodes Fiel, SVD, General Manager of Radio Veritas Asia
• Fr. John Gmeboyo, Interim Director of Catholic Radio Network, South Sudan
• Elizabeth O’Malley, Editorial and Programming Manager, Radio Maria England
French-language program
• Baptiste Detombe, author of the book “L’homme démantelé”
• Father Ernest Kouadio, PhD in social communication, specialist in the relationship between the Church and Artificial Intelligence
• Florent Latrive, Head of Digital Strategy at Radio France
German-language program
• Gregor Schmalzried, AI-Expert, Journalist and Podcaster, ARD (Germany)
• Stefan Kollinger, Chief Innovation Officer, ORF (Austria)
• Philip Meyer, Editorial Board, SRF (Switzerland)
Spanish-language program
• Noel Diaz, Director of the Radio ESNE network (USA and Central America)
• Fray Miguel Gullon, President of the Latin American Association for Education and Popular Communication
• Eva Fernández, correspondent of Radio COPE Spain
Italian-language program
• Andrea Borgnino, Head of Editorial Content, RaiPlay Sound
• Ivana Faccioli, Director of RTL 102.5 News
• Massimiliano Menichetti, Deputy Editorial Director Responsible for Radio Vaticana – Vatican News
• Alessandro Gisotti, President of the Radio and Audio News Group of the EBU
Portuguese-language program
• Father José Inácio de Medeiros, CSsR, former General Director of Rádio Aparecida
• Fernando Geronazzo, Communications Councillor of the Archdiocese of São Paulo and of Cardinal Odilo Scherer
• Father Danilo Pinto dos Santos, Archdiocese of Salvador
• Director of Rádio Excelsior da Bahia (Fundação Dom Avelar Brandão Vilela)
Polish-language program
• Patrycja Michońska, Director of Radio Plus (Eurozet)
• Father Mariusz Wedziuk, Director of the Forum of Independent Catholic Radios
• Mirosław Kasprzak, Head of Radio Lublin
• Krzysztof Kiryczuk, Radio Zet
The programs will bring experiences from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, into dialogue, showing how radio continues to be an irreplaceable tool of closeness, education, evangelization, public service, and innovation.
Ninety-five years after its birth, the Pope’s Radio, built by Marconi, thus confirms its original vocation: to unite the world through the waves of the voice, today also through podcasts and new digital platforms. In the age of artificial intelligence, radio wants to remind the world that: technology can undoubtedly be a tool, but the voice always remains human.
