ROME, OCT. 26, 2012 (Zenit.org).- On Thursday evening, Pope Benedict XVI attended an official viewing of the new documentary film entitled «Art and Faith,» which premiered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
The Polish film studied the link between art and faith as found throughout the Vatican Museums, exploring the religious, historical, and cultural significance of the paintings and sculptures found throughout them.
After the film, the Holy Father noted the significance that the release of the documentary coincides with the beginning of the Year of Faith. The Vatican Museums provide the opportunity, Pope Benedict explained, to spread the message of Christianity for those who come to Rome. For many of these visitors, the Museums become «the strongest contact, sometimes the only one, with the Holy See.”
«One could say that the artistic heritage of Vatican City constitutes a sort of grand «parable» through which the Pope speaks to men and women from around the world… The language of art is a ‘parabolic’ language, with a special openness to the universal: the ‘Way of Beauty’ is a way capable of leading the mind and heart to the Lord, to elevate them to the heights of God.»
Pope Benedict continued by saying he was pleased by the homage paid «to the great sensitivity to the dialogue between art and faith of my beloved Predecessor, Blessed John Paul II.»
The Holy Father concluded: «Art and faith: a combination that accompanies the Church and the Holy See for two thousand years; a combination that we need even more today in our commitment to announcing to the men and women of our time the Gospel of a God who is infinite Beauty and Love.»
