Avvenire

December 4, 1968. The date of birth of Avvenire is linked to a person, a choice and an event. It was Paul VI who wanted a new newspaper of Italian Catholics, which collected the legacy of two historical newspapers: such as L'Italia di Milano and L'Avvenire d'Italia di Bologna. The choice of the Brescian Pontiff, former archbishop of Milan and the son of a journalist, aimed to translate the spirit of the Second Vatican Council into a popular tool for information and judgment on the reality of the contemporary world. The event to which the new daily was significantly linked was the approval of the Council Fathers on December 4 of 5 years before the decree Inter Mirifica "on the instruments of social communication", the first document in which the Church not only addressed the phenomenon of the mass media but offered an overall positive and confident evaluation, placing the means of communication "among the wonderful technical inventions that, especially in our time, human ingenuity has succeeded, with God's help, to draw from the created ". An open and constructive, fully conciliar gaze, of which Avvenire is in all respects a child. From that season, under the guidance of Leonardo Valente (until 1969) and then Angelo Narducci (who was director for 11 years), Avveniretakes the momentum to give voice to a Catholic world that, even more so after Vatican II, is a composite and lively reality, rich in sensitivity and different souls, engaged in the most diverse fronts of education, culture and society. In the pages of "their" daily the Italian Catholics (but also many non-believers) learn to find a reasoned guide in and through the news of every day, accompanied by clear ideas and horizons as wide as the world. The international and religious information, the pages of culture and editorials, the opinions of readers and the attention to the real society are consolidated over time as real strength points, completely original and characteristic, of a newspaper that continues to grow rooted within the Italian ecclesial community and in prestige before theAngelo Paoluz i (until 1981), of Pier Giorgio Liverani , who leads the newspaper until February 1983. With Gian Guido Follon i, then director for seven years, and Lino Rizz i, leading the newspaper from 1990 to 1993, Avvenire adds pages, themes and interests, following the great challenges of an Italian society in which the signs of secularization that crosses the whole Western world are becoming more and more visible, but where the imprint of Christianity and its vision of man remain very present and recognizable . The 15 years of the management of Dino Boffothey are characterized by dialogic confrontation with cultural and anthropological challenges on the great themes of life, of the family, of education, of a political presence of Catholics that radically changes references and coordinates, not without travails. These are the years in which the presence of the newspaper on the Internet takes shape (1998) and supplements such as We Parents and Sons, Places of Infinity (both monthly) and the newspaper for children Popotus are born, today biweekly, highly appreciated unicum in the Italian publishing scene with its ability to tell tomorrow's citizens the news of today. In May 2002 a radical editorial, graphic and organizational redesign made Avvenire one of the most readable and clear newspapers, able to offer a reading often against the current of a reality that is becoming more and more complex and which challenges the conscience of all, asking Catholics one more of awareness, of critical capacity and of incisiveness. From autumn 2009, with the direction entrusted to Marco Tarquinio, the prestige of the newspaper is consolidated in the publishing scene, confirming a trend of diffusional growth that, uninterrupted by the turnaround of 2002, is confirmed also in very difficult years for the copies of newspapers in Italy. The readers of Avvenire - for the most part subscribers, a very special phenomenon and symptomatic of a strong pact of mutual trust - have been confirmed in recent years as an intelligent community, interested in reading and understanding (the reading time of the Catholic daily newspaper Italians are more than double the average of the other newspapers) and able to prod his newspaper to make it clearer in opinions, alternative in interest and in the ability to interpret Italian and international reality, committed to offering an open vision in the eyes but firm in its roots. The launch of the applications for smartphones (2010) and tablets (2011), together with the continuous development of the Avvenire.it website , complement the paper daily offer and make available to subscribers and readers an information "signed Avvenire" always available and everywhere, constantly updated and can also be found in the lively social network netowork thanks to the Facebook and Twitter profiles and the YouTube channel. The new graphic design of the paper daily and the reorganization of the website - launched on December 4, 2013, 45 years from the first issue of "Avvenire" - are aimed at making the nature and mission of an original voice even more explicit and interesting. a brave newspaper of information and ideas. Source