Vatican blognic

The Vatican is holding an official blognic the day after the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Space is limited to 150 so if you are a blogger and want to get into this, you had better sign up quickly at the email address below. Please note that there is a dress code on Vatican property even for bloggers, and you would be advised to remember not to go in your pyjamas.

The Pontifical Council for Social Communications gives the official information in Italian. Here is my own unoffical translation:

Information on the meeting in the Vatican for Bloggers
St Pius X Auditorium, 2 May 2011

A meeting of bloggers will take place on the afternoon of 2 May. The event, organized by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Communications, aims to enable a dialogue between bloggers and representatives of the Church, to share the experiences of those working in this field and to better understand the needs of that community. The meeting will also present some of the initiatives that the Church is putting in place in the world of new media, whether in Rome or at the local level.

In the two planned sessions, various speakers will present some key points to open a discussion open to all the participants. In the first, five bloggers, representing the different language areas, will address specific issues of general importance. In the second, there will be accounts from people involved in the communication strategies of the Church, who will present their experiences of working with new media, as well as initiatives for an effective meeting between the Church and the world of bloggers.

Participants will include Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Archbishop Claudio Celli, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Press Office of the Holy See and of Vatican Radio. An important aspect of the meeting will be that of offering the opportunity for new contacts, informal exchanges among participants, and to open new avenues of interaction.

L’incontro si svolge il giorno dopo la Beatificazione di Giovanni Paolo II, per questo si prevede la presenza a Roma di numerosi bloggers. L’invito è aperto a tutti, ma, per partecipare, bisogna inviare un email a blogmeet@pccs.it con un link al proprio blog. Dato che lo spazio è limitato a 150 posti, e c’è il desiderio di avere una rappresentanza di tutta la blogosfera, i pass e i dettagli per l’evento saranno assegnati secondo criteri linguistici e geografici, la tipologia del blog (istituzionale, privato, multiautore o personale), le tematiche e la tempestività dell’iscrizione.

The meeting will be held the day after the beatification of John Paul II: the presence of numerous bloggers in Rome is expected for this event. The invitation is open to all, but to participate, please send an email to blogmeet@pccs.it with a link to your blog. Given that space is limited to 150 seats, and it is desires to have a representation of the entire blogosphere, passes and details for the event will be assigned according to geographic and linguistic criteria, the type of blog (institutional, private, multi-author or personal), the basic themes, and the timeliness of registration.

A simultaneous translation service will be provided in the following languages: Italian, Spanish, French, Polish and English.

The venue is the St Pius X Auditorium, Via della Conciliazione, No 5 (entrance on the Via dell’Ospedale.)

H/T Paolo Rodari who introduces his article with these observations:

For some time, bloggers on religious matters have been an important voice on the web. Their blogs are read in the Vatican. They influence opinions. I would say more: they influence decisions on the upper floors.