When I first saw Pope Paul VI on an oversized screen in a photograph from 1963, I could not really understand what I was looking at. I had a number of questions, was this a video recording? Was the Pope physically at Georgetown for the speech? If it was neither of these options, then what was I looking at?
As it turned out, my questions would be answered with a single word written on the back of a photograph. Telstar.
Launched just the year before in 1962, Telstar was the first active communications satellite and created the first transatlantic television transmission. All subsequent communication satellites are based upon the Telstar, truly revolutionizing communication and catapulting the world into a new era.
And so in McDonough Gymnasium, on September 26th, 1963, just before the Mass of the Ghost at the inaugural ceremony of Georgetown's 175th Anniversary, Pope Paul VI's words were broadcast from Rome to 187 television stations across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Speaking directly to the Georgetown community, he simultaneously congratulated the University on its 175th Anniversary and commemorated the start of a year long celebration. It was during this speech that Pope Paul VI bestowed the title of "the alma mater of Catholic Colleges in the United States" to Georgetown University. (Hoya, vol. 45, no. 3, October 3, 1963).
Isabella Meier
Assistant University Archivist