Every time Pope Francis undertakes one of his apostolic trips by plane, the Vatican sends a telegram to the ruler of the country he flew over as a sign of its closeness and respect, a tradition of Vatican diplomacy that has been carried out for 60 years.
On the morning of this Friday, September 6, Pope Francis headed to the city of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua Guinea, the second of the 4 countries he will visit on his long trip through Asia and Oceania.
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As soon as we took off from the airport in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the Vatican released the telegram sent to the country’s president. The same thing happened on the outward journey from Rome to Southeast Asia.
Taking off from Fiumicino airport on September 2, he sent a message to the president of Italy and, as the plane approached its destination, messages were sent to the rulers of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria , Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and Malaysia.
When did this tradition start?
Sending telegrams to the Heads of State is a tradition that began in 1964, with the historic visit to the Holy Land of the then Pope Paul VI, the first Pontiff to fly through the sky by plane.
Since May 24, 1964, this practice was established, whose objective is also to bless citizens, strengthen ties of unity and express the good will of the Holy Father.
The telegram is usually sent at the moment the Pontiff’s plane enters the air territory of a given country, as a gesture of courtesy and respect towards the country’s sovereignty.
The message is usually brief and usually includes a greeting from the Pope, followed by his wishes for peace for the nation and its inhabitants. Furthermore, on most occasions the rulers usually respond to the Pope and wish him good fruits for his trip.
Some exceptions
This protocol is not followed on all occasions and over the years there have been some exceptions mainly due to the absence of relations between the Vatican and some countries.
For diplomatic reasons, telegrams from Pope Francis to the Chinese authorities are usually very generic and have even been avoided on some occasions, since they are only sent when he flies over a large part of their airspace.
In the case of conflict zones, the Vatican usually avoids this custom so that countries do not interpret this gesture as a stance in favor of one side or the other.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.