Papal Telephony

(Updated: March 27, 2013)

Earlier this month, pope Benedict XVI announced his historical conclusion to measuring downwardly from his business office on Feb 28, 2013. This makes him the firstly pope to resign since 1415! Therefore, a proficient minute to accept a await at the telephone equipment, which is used past times this leader of almost 1.2 billion catholics.

Pope Benedict XVI, assisted past times his individual secretary, signs a papal bull.

In this painting nosotros come across pope Benedict XVI at piece of work inwards his individual report inwards the papal apartment of the Apostolic Palace inwards Vatican City. At the far correct nosotros tin shipping away come across ii white telephones sitting on a side table: an older 1 with a rotary dial together with a newer 1 with a keypad.

The same combination of a somewhat older rotary dial telephone together with a newer keypad telephone tin shipping away hold out seen at the tabular array of the guard, side past times side to the principal entrance door of the papal apartment:

Swiss Guard soldier garding the door
to the papal apartment, ca. 1989

Three rotary dial phones inwards unlike colors on a side table
side past times side to the desk of pope John Paul II inwards the early on 1980's.

To forestall people from direct calling the pope, the extension break of the papal storey is listed nowhere, non fifty-fifty inwards Vatican telephone books. Only a handful of people chosen past times the pope himself stimulate got his number, which besides changes with each novel pope. Pope Benedict XVI had no a beeper or jail cellphone phone, but he could hold out reached through the jail cellphone telephone of his personal secretary, msgr. Georg Gänswein.

The Vatican receives almost 2000 calls a day, together with at that spot are ever a handful of people proverb they must beak with the pope for whatever reasons. One of them was Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, who in 1 trial dialed Vatican City, using a then called blue box. He identified himself equally Henry Kissinger past times imitating Kissinger's High German accent together with asked to beak to the pope. But due to the unlike fourth dimension zone, he was sleeping at that time.*

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 real rare painting of pope Benedict XVI using a telephone

The papal telecommunication started inwards 1886, at the beginnings of telephony, thank yous to Giovanni Battista Marzi who invented the world's firstly automatic telephone exchange, which linked 10 classify phones, but could entirely brand internal calls. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 few decades later, Guglielmo Marconi effected the firstly Italian link via radio, connecting the Vatican together with the papal summertime residence at Castel Gandolfo.

After the 1929 Lateran Pacts understanding with Italy, past times which the The Holy See State was created, the Vatican was in conclusion allowed to shipping together with have calls to together with from the residual of the world. Therefore, inwards 1930 a novel commutation telephone commutation was donated past times the International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT). It was installed inwards the Belvedere edifice together with provided telephone services for simply about 360 destination users inwards the diverse Vatican offices together with residences. The telephone commutation was consecrated past times pope Pius XI on Nov 19th, 1930.

The firstly Vatican telephone switchboard,
with the upper left lines 2 together with 3 are for the pope
The majority is the Annuario Pontificio, the directory of the Holy See
(Photo: David Seymour, 1948)

The Bell Rotary Telephone-system was nation of the fine art at the fourth dimension together with had the next functions:
1. Dial a direct telephone ready within the Vatican
2. Get a connecter with whatsoever telephone with entirely ii numbers
3. Get an automatic connecter with someone inwards Rome past times simply dialling the break together with adding a "0" inwards forepart for an external line
4. Answer calls from exterior the Vatican at a post service with 2 seating areas
5. priority for some telephone sets for emergencies together with of import calls

Together with the novel exchange, catholics inwards the U.S. donated pope Pius XI the firstly papal telephone: an patch corporation aureate telephone set, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, emblazoned with the papal arms together with decorated with bluish enamel. The telephone is forthwith for display at the Vatican State Telecommunications Department:

The firstly papal telephone, donated to pope Pius XI past times catholics inwards the United States.
(Photo: Dancejill @ TripAdvisor)

This golden papal telephone was used past times several popes, until the destination of pope John XXIII's pontificate inwards 1963. Later, the telephone inwards the pope's apartments was a criterion telephone inwards 'papal' white.

In 1957 the International Telephone together with Telegraph (ITT) besides presented a (less elaborate) ceremonial golden telephone to the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. This was depicted inwards the 1974 moving painting The Godfather Part II, where "United Telephone together with Telegraph" together with American industrialists introduce a corporation golden telephone to the Cuban dictator.

Pope Pius XI sitting at his desk, with the golden telephone.

Postcard showing pope Pius XII writing a letter. In the background nosotros can
come across the golden telephone of Pius XI together with some other white telephone set,
in all probability made past times the Italian manufacturer Olivetti.

In the forties together with fifties it was real particular when the pope was calling. For example, when Pius XII picked upward the telephone together with said "que Pacelli" (his master menage unit of measurement name), the receiving destination would kneel to remove heed the papal message.

In 1960 the Bell telephone organisation was replaced past times an ITT Pentaconta commutation with a capacity of 1500 numbers, which was afterward extended to 3000. In June 1992 the Vatican's 3rd commutation telephone commutation was inaugurated, providing the Vatican with an advanced technological interface, qualifying the Vatican State alongside the firstly to stimulate got a completely numeric telephone network.

The novel telephone flora was installed inwards a forepart of the Belvedere edifice together with consists of a modern numeric telephone commutation with 5120 terminations. The commutation is besides equipped with a numeric switch for operator telephone telephone management together with it is linked via radio to the San Giovanni inwards Laterano, the Palazzo di San Callisto together with the Palazzo della Cancelleria. These Roman buildings are extra-territorial zones nether jurisdiction of the Holy See.

Since 1948, the Telephone Service of the Vatican State has been run past times members of the religious lodge of the Society of St. Paul. It employs over thirty laymen, a few priests together with a dozen nuns, who are members of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master. On work organisation human relationship of their in-depth cognition of unusual languages, they piece of work for 24 hours a twenty-four hours inwards six-hour shifts equally operators of the manual switchboard:

Two nuns operating the Vatican telephone exchange
(Photo: 30giorni, engagement unknown)

The Vatican Telephone Service is the telecommunication provider of Vatican City, which is share of the Governorate’s Department of Telecommunications since 2002. The Telephone Service maintains a complex infrastructure of telephone together with information networks, designed together with maintained past times its ain personnel. In 2005, the Vatican telephone service handled 8.5 meg outgoing calls.

In Nov 2005 the telecommunication subdivision moved into a novel three-story brick building, with sleek, comfortable together with modern facilities. They besides include historical items, such equally papal telephones together with early on technological equipment, on display inwards drinking glass cases.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 amend await at the present-day keypad telephone, hither in
a room used past times the fundamental secretarial assistant of state, Bertone

After the resignation of pope Benedict XVI, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church came together to elect a novel pope. The traditional election was done inwards the famous Sixtine Chapel, but the cardinals stayed inwards the Casa di Santa Marta, with over 120 rooms. This guesthouse was construct inwards 1996, together with got a state-of-the-art Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone network, with Cisco 7911G Unified IP telephone sets, equally tin shipping away hold out seen inwards the painting below:

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Cisco 7911G Unified IP telephone on a side tabular array inwards the Vatican
(Photo: Orbis Catholicus Secundus, Dec 2010)

After the Argentinian archbishop together with fundamental Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ was elected to hold out the novel pope on March 13, he named himself Francis. Shortly afterwards he spoke to one-time pope Benedict past times telephone - the firstly fourth dimension ever a pope calls his predecessor!

In the days to follow, pope Francis personally called quite a break of other people (including his dentist), in all probability with the Cisco telephone from his Santa Marta suite, but perhaps he is besides the firstly pope using a mobile jail cellphone phone. We volition see.


Sources together with Links
- Web page of the Vatican Telephone Service
- Extensive article: On telephone telephone 24/7: Vatican telephone organisation directs thousands of telephone telephone each day
- Blog posting: 'Cept for the Pope perhaps inwards Rome
- Wikipedia article: Golden Telephone

See also:
- Bruce Schneier's spider web log well-nigh Hacking the Papal Election
- Article well-nigh Vatican admits secretly bugging its ain clergy
- During World War II: The Pope’s codes