Thiruvananthapuram, April. 1 (PTI): The Malayalam version of the Catholic Church's official organ, L'Osservatore Romano, will be launched at a function here tomorrow, becoming the first edition of the Vatican journal in a non-European language.

Started in 1861, L'Osservatore covers the activities of the Pope, reviews encyclicals issued by the pontiff and carries general news concerning the Catholic Church the world over, according to its local publishers, Carmel International Publishing House.

Its Italian edition is a daily and the English version a weekly. The Malayalam edition will be a weekly one.

French, German, Spanish and Portuguese are the other languages in which the journal is published.

The Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil, will launch the Malayalam version by presenting a copy to former Union minister and Congress leader Margaret Alwa tomorrow.