| Unicuique suum – non praevalebunt | |
.png) | |
 L'Osservatore Romano print edition on 8 May 2025 | |
| Type | Daily in Italian Weekly in other languages |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | The Holy See |
| Editor | Andrea Monda [it] |
| Founded | 1 July 1861; 164 years ago (1861-07-01) |
| Headquarters | Via del Pellegrino - 00120 Vatican City |
| ISSN | 0391-688X |
| Website | osservatoreromano.va |
L'Osservatore Romano[a] is the daily newspaper ofVatican City which reports on the activities of theHoly See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world.[1][2] It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role reserved for theActa Apostolicae Sedis, which acts as agovernment gazette.[3][4][2] The views expressed in theOsservatore are those of individual authors unless they appear under the specific titles "Nostre Informazioni" or "Santa Sede".[5][6]
Available in nine languages, the paper prints twoLatin mottos under themasthead of each edition:Unicuique suum ('To each his own') andNon praevalebunt ('[The gates of Hell] shall not prevail').[b] The current editor-in-chief isAndrea Monda [it].
L'Osservatore Romano is published in eight different languages (listed by date of first publication):[7]
The daily Italian edition ofL'Osservatore Romano is published in the afternoon, but with acover date of the following day, a convention that sometimes results in confusion.[3] The weekly English edition is distributed in more than 129 countries, includingEnglish-speaking countries and locales where English is used as the general means of communication.[7]
L'Osservatore della Domenica is a weekly publication inVatican City. It is the Sunday supplement to theL'Osservatore Romano. Founded in 1934, an illustrated weekly was published with the titleL'Osservatore romano della Domenica (since 1951L'Osservatore della Domenica). In 1979 it was reduced to a Sunday supplement.[9]
Since 29 June 2022, another edition ofL'Osservatore Romano has been published:L'Osservatore di Strada. It is published on the first Sunday of every month.[10][11] On 29 June 2022, the first printed edition was distributed to those present atSt. Peter's Square. On the same day, at the end of the Pope'sservice, the Pope made a remark at the end of hisMarian prayer praising the newspaper.[12][13]
The first issue ofL'Osservatore Romano was published inRome on 1 July 1861, a few months after theKingdom of Italy was proclaimed on 17 March 1861.[7] The original intent of the newspaper was unabashedly polemical and propagandistic in defence of thePapal States, adopting the name of a private pamphlet financed by aFrench Catholic legitimist group.[7] The 18 September 1860 defeat of papal troops atCastelfidardo substantially reduced the temporal power of the Pope, prompting Catholic intellectuals to present themselves in Rome for the service ofPope Pius IX.[7] This agenda supported the notion of a daily publication to champion the opinions of the Holy See.[7]
By July 1860, the deputy Minister of the Interior,Marcantonio Pacelli (grandfather of the future PopePius XII), had plans to supplement the official bulletin of the Catholic ChurchGiornale di Roma with a semi-official "rhetorical" publication. In early 1861, controversialist Nicola Zanchini and journalist Giuseppe Bastia were granted editorial direction of Pacelli's newspaper. Official permission to publish was sought on 22 June 1861, and four days later, on 26 June, Pius IX gave his approval for the regulation ofL'Osservatore.[7]
The first edition was entitled "L'Osservatore Romano – a political and moral paper" and cost fivebaiocchi. The "political and moral paper" epithet was dropped before 1862, adding instead the two Latin mottoes that still appear under the masthead today.[7]
After thebreach of Porta Pia by Italian troops in September 1870,L'Osservatore Romano solidified its opposition to the Kingdom of Italy, affirming obedience to the Pope and adherence to his directives, stating it would remain faithful "to that unchangeable principle of religion and morals which recognises as its sole depository and claimant theVicar of Jesus Christ on earth".[7]
The Osservatore continued to be published as a newspaper in Vatican City, but in 1904,Acta Sanctae Sedis, which had existed since 1865, was declared the formal organ of the Holy See in that all documents printed in it were considered "authentic and official".[14]Acta Sanctae Sedis ceased publication four years later and on 29 September 1908Acta Apostolicae Sedis became the official publication of the Holy See.[15]
The English weekly edition was first published on 4 April 1968.[7] On 7 January 1998, that edition became the first to be printed outside of Rome, when for North American subscribers, it began to be printed inBaltimore.[16] The edition was printed by the Cathedral Foundation, publishers ofThe Catholic Review.[16]
As of 1 July 2011, the English-language edition of theL'Osservatore Romano for North American subscribers is once again published in Rome.[17]
In the 21st century, the paper has taken a more objective and subdued stance than at the time of its foundation, priding itself in "presenting the genuine face of the church and the ideals of freedom", following the statement by CardinalTarcisio Bertone in an October 2006 speech inaugurating a new exhibit dedicated to the founding and history of the newspaper.[18] He further described the publication as "an instrument for spreading the teachings of the successor of Peter and for information about church events".[18]
On 27 June 2015,Pope Francis, in anapostolic letter, established theSecretariat for Communications, a new part of theRoman Curia, and includedL'Osservatore Romano under its management.[19][20]
It is a common error to assume that the contents of theL'Osservatore Romano represent the views of theMagisterium, or the official position of theHoly See. In general, this is not the case, and the only parts of theOsservatore which represent the views of the Holy See are those that appear under the titles "Nostre Informazioni" or "Santa Sede".[5][6] At times the Magisterium disputes the contents of theOsservatore, e.g. a 2008 article expressed the desire that the debate onbrain death be reopened because of new developments in the medical world. An official spokesman said that the article presented a personal opinion of the author and "did not reflect a change in the Catholic Church's position".[21]
For the first time, the Vatican newspaper's presses are rolling outside of Rome—and beginning operations in Baltimore. ... The newspaper's Jan. 7 issue, the first printed here, was sent to 2,500 subscribers in the United States by the Cathedral Foundation, the center of Catholic church works in Baltimore. ... Now, nearly two centuries later, Internet technology is being used to deliver the pope's official publication faster to American readers. Making all the logistical arrangements to publish the Vatican newspaper—also technically a government document—in Baltimore was a yearlong project...The weekly, in the format of a 12‑page tabloid, is scheduled to be printed and mailed every Wednesday, reaching North American readers more rapidly than it previously did by air or ship from Rome.
| History | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography |
| ||||||||||
| Politics |
| ||||||||||
| Economy |
| ||||||||||
| Culture |
| ||||||||||
| Sports | |||||||||||
| History Timeline Ecclesiastical Legal |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theology Bible Tradition Catechism |
| ||||||||||||
| Philosophy | |||||||||||||
| Saints | |||||||||||||
| Organisation Hierarchy Canon law Laity Precedence By country |
| ||||||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||||||
| Media | |||||||||||||
| Religious orders, institutes,societies |
| ||||||||||||
| Associations of the faithful | |||||||||||||
| Charities | |||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
41°54′19″N12°27′25″E / 41.90528°N 12.45694°E /41.90528; 12.45694
