On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Modern Art Collection of the Vatican Museums, Pope Francis received in audience in the Sistine Chapel more than two hundred artists from all over the world: directors, actors, writers, poets, painters, sculptors, architects and musicians.
The Pope offered an important invitation to all those present: “With your talents, you bring to light something exceptional; you enrich the world with something new. The creativity of the artist can thus be said to share in God’s own passion for creation. You are sharers in God’s dream! Yours are eyes that see, eyes that dream. It is not enough simply to see; we also need to be able to dream!». The event is part of a series of similar meetings between the Popes and artists, initiated by St. Paul VI in order to “re-establish friendship between the Church and artists,” as he said during his homily at the “Artists’ Mass” he celebrated on 7 May 1964 in the Sistine Chapel, a venue that reinforces how fruitful the encounter between art and faith has been over the centuries.