Vatican Radio in English on 9705 kHz: the evening programme from Santa Maria di Galeria

What you hear

At 20:00 UTC, 9705 kHz opens with the Vatican Radio signature and a half hour in English: news from the Holy See, a summary of what the Pope said that day at an audience or the Angelus, reports from the Catholic Church around the world, and often a short reflection or a piece of sacred music to close. The tone is calm and unhurried, more like a daily bulletin from an institution than a news channel. The same half hour goes out in parallel on 11870 kHz, and an earlier English edition runs from 16:30 to 17:00 UTC on 13830 and 15565 kHz. Short English bulletins have also been placed on 15595 kHz at other times. Around these English slots the same transmitters carry Vatican Radio in African languages, French, Portuguese and others, so what you hear a few minutes early or late may be a different service of the same station.

On big occasions, a papal Mass, a canonisation, the election of a Pope, the schedule is set aside and the station carries the event live, sometimes for hours.

Who transmits and why

Vatican Radio is the radio service of the Holy See, on the air since 1931, when its first transmitter was built under Marconi's direction. Since 2017 it has been part of the Vatican's unified media office, and much of its output now reaches people through the web, but shortwave remains for one audience in particular: Africa, where Catholic communities are large, growing and often far from reliable internet. That is who the English half hours are for; the 20:00 UTC edition is timed for the African evening. The transmitters stand at Santa Maria di Galeria, a large site north-west of Rome that has the odd legal status of Vatican extraterritory inside Italy.

When and where to listen

The evening edition at 20:00 UTC uses two bands at once, 9705 kHz in the 31 metre band and 11870 kHz in the 25 metre band, which between them cover Africa whatever the season. From Europe the station is close and strong on either channel; receivers in Italy, Austria and the Balkans see it at local strength, and northern Europe has no trouble. The afternoon edition on 13830 and 15565 kHz is also easy from Europe while the higher bands are open. From North America, 9705 kHz is sometimes audible in the evening on the east coast, though the beam is pointing the other way.

The catalogue mode is AM, and the transmitters are clean. The 31 metre band is crowded in the European evening, so if a neighbour is close, choose upper or lower sideband and keep the quiet side.

In ShackDeck

The entry sits under Station catalogue → Shortwave broadcast → Vatican Radio in English 9705. ShackDeck picks a public receiver whose range covers 9705 kHz, tunes it and sets AM from the catalogue, so you need no receiver, antenna or account of your own. If you are listening outside 20:00 to 20:30 UTC, the other frequencies in this article can be typed into the receiver by hand.