By Christopher Wells
“In an age dominated by technology, in which efficiency and profit often take precedence,” Pope Leo XIV said Wednesday morning, “it is so important that we continue to cultivate a spirit of contemplation and allow time and space for beauty.”
He was speaking with Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums from the US state of Louisiana prior to his General Audience.
The Pope said that a spirit of contemplation “will greatly help humanity, especially young people, not only to discover the ability of art to uplift and reveal the depths of the human spirit and our openness to the divine, but also to realize that the gift of self is essential for authentic fulfilment.”
He linked contemplation to the “marvellous opportunity to encounter God who is Beauty,” encouraging the Patrons “to open yourselves to this beauty and consider ways of helping others to do the same.”
The Holy Father noted that it is precisely the love of art and beauty, and the desire to preserve it for future generations, that brings the patrons to Rome.
He recognized that they also come to Rome as pilgrims, expressing his hope that their time “spent in prayer at the tombs of the Apostles will reinforce your bonds with the Successor of Peter and the Universal Church.”
“As Patrons, I trust that you have experienced firsthand that beauty possesses the power to awaken he noblest desires of the human heart, calling us beyond ourselves and opening our souls to the gratuity of God’s gifts,” he said.
In this context, he concluded by thanking the Patrons of the Arts from Louisiana for their “generous collaboration” in the work of maintaining the art of the Vatican Museums. – Vatican News
