On 3 November, at Palazzo Borromeo, a presentation was held for the book ‘Ettore Bernabei. Diaries. The Years of Great Hope (1961–1965)’. Following the official greetings from the Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, addressed the gathering.
Cardinal Parolin paid tribute to Bernabei, a leading figure in the media and in informal diplomacy during years of profound change. Appointed Director-General of RAI in 1961, Bernabei helped to popularise television, enabling a new audience of viewers and the faithful to follow the Popes’ journeys at close quarters, beginning with Paul VI’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Cardinal also recalled Bernabei’s commitment to fostering dialogue with the communist world, referring to the audience granted by Pope John XXIII to Aleksej Adžubej and his wife Rada Chruščëva, the Soviet leader’s daughter, in March 1963. Finally, he highlighted the merit of having conceived of television as an institution with social and educational responsibilities.
The subsequent discussion between the editor of the volume, Agostino Giovagnoli, Professor Emeritus of Contemporary History at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and the journalist Susanna Lemma explored Ettore Bernabei’s role in fostering dialogue between the West and the East, in accordance with a spiritual vision closely aligned with that of Giorgio La Pira.
The meeting was brought to a close by Giovanni Bernabei, Ettore’s seventh son, who shared a personal account of his father.
