Telecast Information for Christmas Events at Vatican

Coordinated by Council for Social Communications

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VATICAN CITY, DEC. 1, 2003 (Zenit.org).- This year’s midnight Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and the next day’s papal message and blessing will be able to be followed live on television worldwide.

Television coverage of these ceremonies, for worldwide distribution, will be provided by Radiotelevisone Italiana (RAI), in cooperation with the Vatican Television Center (CTV), and coordinated by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the latter said in a statement.

The following telecasts will be available:

— in Europe, through the EBU (European Broadcasting Union-Eurovision);
— in the rest of the world through INTELSAT;
— in parts of Latin America, also through PanAmSat.

Television networks and stations that want to take part in these telecasts are asked to contact:

— in Europe: RAI, Eurovision Office, Sig.ra Laura Maggiore, telephone: (39) 06 3317 0053/2814; fax (39) 06 3317 1151; e-mail: eurovision@rai.it

— elsewhere: Telespazio, Sig. Sergio Bernardi, telephone: (39) 06 4079 3487; fax: (39) 06 407 1790; e-mail: customer_support@telespazio.it

— in Latin America, OTI (Organización de la Televisión Iberoamericana), Mr. Darío de la Pena, fax: (52) 55 5281 1564/280 7847; e-mail: otiprogramas@oti.tv or, if necessary, Telespazio, as noted above.

Television networks and stations which, for technical reasons, cannot make use of satellite audio signals can use telephone circuits with the Vatican by contacting: Telecom Italia, Sig. Joseph Soureal, telephone: (39) 06 3689 4067/4657; fax: (39) 06 3689 4506/4413.

For fully equipped positions for television commentators in the Braccio di Carlo Magno, next to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, interested networks and stations are asked to contact Sig.ra Laura Maggiore at RAI (see above).

The Pontifical Council for Social Communications will cover the technical expenses for satellite uplink. For developing countries that find themselves in particular difficulty, on recommendation of the respective papal representative, the council will cover downlink expenses, but not the expenses for local/national transmission of the programs.

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