Rome, Italy, Feb 3, 2009 / 12:03 pm
The Italian news agency SIR reported this week that since its debut on January 23, the Vatican’s YouTube channel has received more than 750,000 visits.
According to the Director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, who was answering questions from reporters about the YouTube channel, said, “During the first six days since the opening of the new channel, the page views in the four languages (English, Italian, German and Spanish) have reached more than 750,000.”
“The Google analysts we have consulted,” he continued, “think our channel is absolutely aligned with the levels of visits of other (sites) that were launched even much earlier.”
In comments to the SIR news agency, Archbishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, explained that “the relationship between the theme of the World Day of Social Communications (New Technologies, New Relations. Promoting a culture of respect and friendly dialogue) and the Pope’s exhortation about YouTube has been—and is—one of the most significant elements at the basis of the efforts of our dicastery.”
“We have again underscored that not only is it important to embrace and sustain theoretically the development of the new technologies, but also to offer a concrete sign of such a reality,” he added.