General Secretary participates in the inauguration of the photographic exhibition titled, “Changes”, hosted in the Charlemagne Wing

A call to protect creation

The exhibition’s 24 photographs portrayed the contrast between the beauty of Creation and the damages caused by climate change to nature and to peoples throughout the world. Curated by Lia and Marianna Beltrami in cooperation with the Dicastery for Communication, the Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Laudato Si’ Centre for Higher Education, the photographs, which were exhibited in the Charlemagne Wing of Saint Peter’s Square, were part of the project, “Emotions to Generate Change”. The exhibition was open to the public from 7 to 24 May.

Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, were both present at the inauguration of the exhibition on Tuesday morning, 7 May.

The photographs were accompanied by verses from Saint Francis’ of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, and were taken by artists from throughout the world: Amazonia, Australia, Bangladesh, Borneo, Ethiopia, Florida, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Togo and Turkey.

The images showcased the wonders of our Common Home and the many wounds inflicted to it by mankind. They were a call to take action before it’s too late and to respond to the appeal made by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, Laudate Deum: “with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons. We will feel its effects in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc.”.