VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2004 (Zenit.org).- As recently as seven years ago, one had to live in Rome and be accredited in the Holy See’s Press Office in order to follow John Paul II’s day-to-day activity.
Now, much of this information can be followed on Internet.
The Holy See Internet Office reports that the Vatican’s Web site (www.vatican.va) has become the primary means to transmit information on the activities of the Pope and the Holy See.
In 2003, there were almost 22 million hits to the press office’s Web site, with an average of 59,667 searches performed every day, the Holy See Internet Office reported. The month with the greatest amount of traffic was March, with 3,598,183 requests answered and an average of 116,072 hits each day.
This information does not include the visits to other sections of the Vatican’s Web page.
The most hits and requests came from (in order) the United States, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Brazil and France.
The words most often searched for were: Vatican, news, information, press service. Thursdays and Fridays are the busiest days for activity. E-traffic is heaviest between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Rome time.
In 2003, the Vatican Information Service reached the highest number of subscribers to date: 15,916. More than 54% of subscribers receive the service in English, while 28.3% receive it in Spanish.
