News

Initiatives organized by the Pontifical Villas and the Vatican Museums for Christmas and the Jubilee, at Castel Gandolfo

Two masterpieces at the service of evangelization by Raphael and Ghirlandaio

The beautiful tapestry, “The Stoning of Saint Stephen”, by Raffaello Sanzio, will be on display in the Sala dei Papi (Hall of Popes) of Castel Gandolfo’s Pontifical Palace, while the painting, “The Adoration of the Child”, by Domenico Bigordi, known as Ghirlandaio, will be on display in the Palace’s lower floor, along with four paintings of the Nativity by Masters of the 15th century.

Cardinal Vérgez Alzaga presides over Day 7 of the Immaculate Conception Novena in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles

The Magnificat according to Blessed Cardinal Pironio

The mystery of Mary is a mystery of “spoliation and annihilation, of hiddenness and littleness, of humility and service”, said Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, presiding over day 7 of the Immaculate Conception Novena, on Thursday evening, 5 December, in Rome’s Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles. A Eucharistic Concelebration was celebrated in the Basilica cared for by the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, prior to the recital of the Rosary and the litanies.

Smart lights for the Christmas trees in Saint Peter’s Square and in the Pontifical Villas

To create beauty and “visualize” the mystery

The Christmas trees in Saint Peter’s Square and in the Pontifical Villas have something in common: smart lighting. LED lights that use patented technology for mappable have been customized to create complex and creative displays that recall the stars that lit up the night in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.

Mercedes-Benz delivers first electric popemobile to Pope Francis

Zero emissions vehicle for the Jubilee

The first entirely electric popemobile has been delivered to Pope Francis by Mercedes-Benz. Inspired by the principles outlined in the Encyclical, Laudato Si’, it will be used throughout the Jubilee.

The vehicle was delivered during a ceremony at Largo Giovanni Paolo II in the Vatican on Wednesday afternoon, 4 December.

Preservation works carried out with the contribution of the Northwest Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums

A day dedicated to studying the bronze statue of Hercules Mastai at the Vatican Museums

Hercules Mastai, the colossal bronze statue named after Pius IX, who included it among the collections of the Vatican Museums, has undergone a complex intervention to preserve it. The restoration project was possible thanks to the contribution of Rick and Lisa Altig of the Northwest Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. On Tuesday, 3 December, the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage held a workshop dedicated to furthering knowledge on “Hercules Mastai – From its Finding to its Restoration”, and to providing details of its restoration.

An interview with Antonio Boemo, coordinator of the project for the construction of the nativity scene from Grado, which will be on display in Saint Peter’s Square

Jesus is born in a lagoon surrounded by fog

The setting for the representation of the Nativity of Jesus in Saint Peter’s Square for Christmas 2024 is a lagoon filled with almost stagnant water, with swamp birds including mallards, seagulls, herons and sea swifts, and local flora, small islands and the unfaltering fog. The nativity scene is a replica of the evocative landscape of the Island of the Sun, where Grado is located. The town in Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, is known as the daughter of Aquileia, but the mother of Venice.