Art is Evangelization
In addition to being a credible witness of the beauty of creation, art is also an instrument for evangelization. Within the Church, art – music, architecture, sculpture, paintings – exists above all to evangelize. Through art, the Church explains and interprets the Revelation, Take the Sistine Chapel for instance. What did Michelangelo do? A work of evangelization. The same goes for medieval Cathedrals: the catechism was in the stone sculptures. People did not know how to read but they observed the sculptures and learned. The Church has always used art to reveal the wonder of God’s creation and the dignity of man, created in his own image and likeness, as well as the power of death, and the beauty of the Resurrection of Christ, which restores a world afflicted by sin. Beauty unites us, and as John Paul II said, quoting Dostoevsky, it will save us. To follow Christ is not only a true thing but also a beautiful one, capable of filling life with joy, even in the midst of daily difficulties. In this sense, beauty represents a way to encounter the Lord.
The Museums are open to all
If the Pope has museums, it is precisely for this reason! Because art can be an extraordinary vehicle to proclaim to the men and women of the whole world, with simplicity, the Good News of God, who became man for us because he loves us! And this is beautiful!
The Vatican Museums must always be a place of beauty and welcome. They must welcome new forms of art. They must open wide their doors to the people of the entire world, be an instrument for dialogue between cultures and religions, an instrument of peace - be living! Not dusty collections from the past reserved only for the “elite” and the “learned”, but rather a vital reality that can safeguard the past in order to reveal it to the people of today, starting from the most humble, so that all together, we can look to the present and the future with trust. Art has a salvific dimension and should be open to everything and everyone, offering comfort and hope to each one of us. This is why the Church should promote the use of art in its evangelizing work, looking to the past but also to current forms of expression. We should not be afraid to find and use new symbols, new art forms, new languages, even those that may be less interesting to evangelizers or to curators, because they may be important to others, and touchthem.
This is why, some time ago, a few of Rome’s homeless people visited the Vatican Museums and were able to admire the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican Museums are the home of all, their doors are always open to all. They bear witness to the artistic and spiritual hopes of humanity and the search for that supreme beauty that finds fulfilment in God. And the poor are at the heart of the Gospel, which is the greatest thing we have. The poor are the privileged of Divine Mercy. If you remove the poor from the Gospel, nothing makes sense. Thus, why should they not enter the Sistine Chapel? Because they don’t have the money to buy the ticket? I have been criticised for this, I know. I have also been criticised for having showers put under Bernini’s Colonnade.
I repeat: the poor are at the heart of the Gospel. We should not forget this.
OFFICIAL SITE
From Papa Francesco. La mia idea di arte, edited byTiziana Lupi, Edizioni Musei Vaticani – Mondadori, Vatican City – Milan 2015, pp. 9-11.
© Libreria Editrice Vaticana
