Starting next week, Chinese will be added as the ninth official language at papal general audiences, Pope Francis announced on Nov. 27. “Next week, with Advent, the Chinese translation will also begin here publicly,” the pope said on Nov. 27 during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
The addition marks a significant expansion of the languages used at the weekly papal events, where key portions — including Scripture readings, summaries of the pope’s address, and greetings — are delivered in eight languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Arabic.
The translations make papal teachings accessible to pilgrims from around the world. They are traditionally delivered by staff members of the Vatican Secretariat of State or Vatican News. Mandarin Chinese is considered the world’s most spoken language, with nearly one billion speakers, ahead of Spanish and English.