As the Year of Jubilee inches closer, the Vatican has announced a few new additions that will be a boon to its media and social media. Firstly, new webcams will be installed at St. Peter’s Basilica that will stream via YouTube, giving the faithful a chance to pray virtually at St. Peter's tomb. Meanwhile, the Vatican is proud to announce the release of a new monthly-issue magazine that will begin appearing in Italian train stations this December.
According to a press release, the webcams were announced by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, president of the Fabric of St. Peter, and Father Enzo Fortunato, director of communications for the basilica, at a press briefing.
Pope Francis himself will inaugurate the installation on December 2, in an evening ceremony.
There will be two webcams installed, the first of which will be situated within the Tomb of St. Peter, located directly under the basilica’s altar and protected by Bernini’s recently restored Baldachin. Until now, visitors could only peer into a cavity into the tomb, protected by glass, but now the faithful will have virtual access to the tomb at any time, day or night.
The second camera will be set up before the Vatican’s Holy Door, through which pilgrims will enter throughout the Year of Jubilee in order to receive a plenary indulgence. The Holy Door camera will likely only remain up for the duration of 2025, but the tomb webcam will likely be a permanent installation.
Similar to the camera that has been streaming St. Peter’s Square, the live-streams are expected to run 24/7.
The Vatican also announced the first issue of its new monthly-released magazine, titled “Piazza San Pietro.” This 80-page magazine, offered in English, Italian, and Spanish, can be bought at the Vatican’s new visitor’s center, or subscribed to via mail.
One of the biggest features of the magazine will be a section where Pope Francis himself responds to reader’s letters. In the first issue, the pope responds to a grandmother who is upset that her 5-year-old granddaughter has yet to be baptized. He offers the woman guidance on approaching the dialogue “with gentleness,” and to avoid seeming as though she is insisting on the baptism. Yet, he emphasizes the importance of the sacrament.
