Vatican
City, 19 October 2013 (VIS) – This morning, in the Sala Clementina
of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience
the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, an international
community of benefactors who “adopt” and finance projects for the
conservation, restoration and promotion of the Museums' treasures,
and who met in Rome from 15 to 20 October to celebrate their
thirtieth anniversary.
The
Pope praised their work over the last three decades, in which they
have contributed, amongst other things, to the “broader religious,
artistic and cultural mission of the Museums”, mentioning in his
welcome address that the founding of the Patrons of the Arts of the
Vatican Museums was inspired “not only by a praiseworthy sense of
stewardship for the Church’s heritage of sacred art, but also by
the desire to advance the spiritual and religious ideals which led to
the foundation of the papal collections”.
He
continued, “In every age the Church has called upon the arts to
give expression to the beauty of her faith and to proclaim the Gospel
message of the grandeur of God’s creation, the dignity of human
beings made in his image and likeness, and the power of Christ’s
death and resurrection to bring redemption and rebirth to a world
touched by the tragedy of sin and death. The Vatican Museums, with
their unique and rich history, make it possible for countless
pilgrims and visitors to Rome to encounter this message through works
of art which bear witness to the spiritual aspirations of humanity,
the sublime mysteries of the Christian faith, and the quest of that
supreme beauty which has its source and fulfilment in God”.
The
Pontiff, before imparting his apostolic blessing, encouraged the
Patrons to experience their patronage of the arts in the Vatican
Museums as “a sign of your interior participation in the spiritual
life and mission of the Church. May it also be an expression of our
hope in the coming of that Kingdom whose beauty, harmony and peace
are the expectation of every human heart and the inspiration of
mankind’s highest artistic aspirations”.
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