Popoli (magazine)

In the winter of 1914,[1] a Jesuit priest named Giuseppe Petazzi began preparations for the publication of a fortnightly journal to be named Le Missioni della Compagnia di Gesù. With the blessing of Pope Benedict XV, the first issue was publised in January 1915, "at a time when all souls are saddened by the gloomy outlook of the war that is tearing through Europe." The magazine's aim was to "tell and promote the great work of the missions", with a specific reference to members of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in Italy. The publication featured images and an international vision, which was uncommon at the time, and began to publish on a monthly basis in 1943. In 1954 the magazine changed its format from "note-book" to the larger sized format of the present publication. In 1970, the magazine was renamed Popoli e Missioni (Peoples and Missions) with the publisher's new association with the Italian headquarters of Pontifical Mission Societies. At this time, the publication introduced color photographs and widened its focus to become more international in its focus.

In 1987 the history of the magazine reached its third iteration with the adoption of the new title Popoli and the end of its cooperation with the Pontifical Mission Societies. In 1993, the first lay correspondent joined the editing team. The magazine paid increasingly more attention to the imbalances between the North and the South of the world, following in the footsteps of Giuseppe Bellucci (editor-in-chief from 1976), who would query: "are we heading for a new type of exploitation, or for a fairer world?" More and more, Popoli to on the role of combining infomation and news with its existing mission role. Father Bellucci left the magazine in 1998, following 22 years of service, and after a brief tenure of Father Giustino Béthaz's as editor-in-chief, Father Bartolomeo Sorge, former editor of both Civiltà Cattolica and Aggiornamenti Sociali, took the lead in 1999. In 2006, Stefano Femminis became editor-in-chief, the first layman to lead a Jesuit magazine in Italy. In keeping with its international profile, Popoli has spent the last several years paying increased attention to the dynamics of immigration in Italy and the transformation of a multi-ethnic society. Since 2010 the magazine has been available online, with a wider range of contents and articles than its paper equivalent. One year later, Popoli became the first Catholic magazine in Italy to develop an iPad application.[2]