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Pope Leo XIV Dedicates New Vatican Library Building on Birthday
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV inaugurated an art exhibit at the Vatican Library and announced plans for a new building to house its growing collection on his 71st birthday.
Pope Leo XIV marked his 71st birthday by inaugurating an art exhibit at the Vatican Library, which focuses on water and reflects a recent emphasis on contemporary art at the Vatican. The exhibit, titled "AQVA," is part of the theme "Catastrophe and Wonder" and will be on display until May 14, 2027.
During his visit, Pope Leo XIV described the Vatican Library as a "beating heart," symbolizing its role in engaging with human history and promoting dialogue. Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, the Holy See’s librarian and archivist, emphasized the library’s importance in intertwining generations and expressed gratitude for the new building that will house the Vatican Library’s expanding manuscript collection.
The pope also noted that current storage facilities were insufficient, citing Pope Francis’ 2024 move of parts of the library to the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary building near the Basilica of St. John Lateran. He decreed that a new building be constructed within the Vatican City State to address this need, stating that it would provide unprecedented opportunities for better preservation and access to the library’s vast collection.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged all present, particularly the library employees, to continue finding new pathways towards reconciliation. The exhibit includes works by artists such as JR, who created an installation of an ocean wave on the outside of the library, and Bill Moran, whose "Letterfishes" series is part of the display.
What's confirmed
- Pope Leo XIV marked his 71st birthday by inaugurating an art exhibit at the Vatican Library, which focuses on water and reflects a recent emphasis on contemporary art at the Vatican. The exhibit, titled "AQVA," is part of the theme "Catastrophe and Wonder" and will be on display until May 14, 2027.
- During his visit, Pope Leo XIV described the Vatican Library as a "beating heart," symbolizing its role in engaging with human history and promoting dialogue. Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, the Holy See’s librarian and archivist, emphasized the library’s importance in intertwining generations and expressed gratitude for the new building that will house the Vatican Library’s expanding manuscript collection.
- The pope also noted that current storage facilities were insufficient, citing Pope Francis’ 2024 move of parts of the library to the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary building near the Basilica of St. John Lateran. He decreed that a new building be constructed within the Vatican City State to address this need, stating that it would provide unprecedented opportunities for better preservation and access to the library’s vast collection.
- Pope Leo XIV encouraged all present, particularly the library employees, to continue finding new pathways towards reconciliation. The exhibit includes works by artists such as JR, who created an installation of an ocean wave on the outside of the library, and Bill Moran, whose "Letterfishes" series is part of the display.
What's still developing
- “How should we describe the pope’s library. I will use a metaphor: The Apostolic Library is a heart,” Leo said.
- “This exhibition, among other things, precisely by putting together a centuries-old library and contemporary artists, says exactly this: Generations are intertwined. Let us not pretend to be men and women alone, because we are already in the company of all generations, and to them we are indebted,” Pagazzi told EWTN News at the inauguration.
- “Well, you know, as an artist, my role is to create bridges, and so I feel in my place, like where I need to be working, even if it’s pretty intimidating to work in a place like the Vatican,” JR told EWTN News.
- “Aquatilium Animalium Historia” (1557), the centerpiece of the Vatican Library’s “AQVA” exhibit, is a masterwork of Renaissance typography, scientific rigor, and fine engraving by Ippolito Salviani. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News In a document issued the same day, Leo decreed that a new building be constructed in Vatican City to house the Vatican Library’s growing manuscript collection.
- “Unprecedented opportunities have arisen to create new facilities within the territory of the Vatican City State, which are undoubtedly preferable, for a variety of reasons, to the solution that had previously been identified,” the pope wrote.
- | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News The occasion also marked Leo’s first visit to the library since his election to the papacy in 2025.