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Pope Leo XIV Emphasizes Vatican II Document's Urgency and Launches New Library Building Project
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV marked his 71st birthday by inaugurating an art exhibit at the Vatican Library and decreeing the construction of a new building to house the library's growing collection.
During his birthday celebrations, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated an art exhibit titled 'AQVA' at the Vatican Library, reflecting on water as both a threat and a resource. He also emphasized the Vatican II document's greater urgency today, likening the library to a beating heart. In a significant move, the pope decreed the construction of a new building to address the library's growing manuscript collection, marking a new chapter in the institution's history.
The exhibit, 'AQVA,' part of the theme 'Catastrophe and Wonder,' includes works by artists such as Bill Moran and JR, who reflected on his role as a bridge-builder. Pope Leo XIV highlighted the library's importance, stating, 'The heart's movements of contraction and relaxation are mirrored in both the quiet atmosphere of the Vatican Library and its engagement with human history.
The pontiff also repealed provisions introduced by Pope Francis in 2021 that reduced the salaries of cardinals and Vatican employees, explaining that these measures were necessary to confront the exceptional challenge of the pandemic. He noted, 'Having heard the competent opinion of the Secretariat for the Economy and having carefully considered everything, I decided to repeal Pope Francis' 2021 decree, 'A Sustainable Future.
The document's second chapter, focusing on the 'human community,' has 'even greater urgency' today, according to Pope Leo XIV. This emphasis underscores the ongoing commitment to promoting contemporary art and reconciliation within the Vatican.
What's confirmed
- During his birthday celebrations, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated an art exhibit titled 'AQVA' at the Vatican Library, reflecting on water as both a threat and a resource. He also emphasized the Vatican II document's greater urgency today, likening the library to a beating heart. In a significant move, the pope decreed the construction of a new building to address the library's growing manuscript collection, marking a new chapter in the institution's history.
- The exhibit, 'AQVA,' part of the theme 'Catastrophe and Wonder,' includes works by artists such as Bill Moran and JR, who reflected on his role as a bridge-builder. Pope Leo XIV highlighted the library's importance, stating, 'The heart's movements of contraction and relaxation are mirrored in both the quiet atmosphere of the Vatican Library and its engagement with human history.
- The pontiff also repealed provisions introduced by Pope Francis in 2021 that reduced the salaries of cardinals and Vatican employees, explaining that these measures were necessary to confront the exceptional challenge of the pandemic. He noted, 'Having heard the competent opinion of the Secretariat for the Economy and having carefully considered everything, I decided to repeal Pope Francis' 2021 decree, 'A Sustainable Future.
- The document's second chapter, focusing on the 'human community,' has 'even greater urgency' today, according to Pope Leo XIV. This emphasis underscores the ongoing commitment to promoting contemporary art and reconciliation within the Vatican.
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.
- “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.
- He noted that current storage was 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.
- “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.
- The pope also encouraged all present, particularly the Vatican Library employees, to “keep finding new pathways towards reconciliation.” JR, a French artist who created the exhibit’s installation of an ocean wave on the outside of the library, reflected on his role as a bridge-builder.
- The Vatican published the papal decree, signed earlier in the month, on Sept. 14, Pope Leo’s birthday, a day on which the pope also issued a decree ordering the construction of a new building in Vatican City State to house the excess holdings of the library and the Vatican Apostolic Archive.
- “Now they can be brought to an end, in the certainty that the institutions of the Holy See and Vatican City State will continue, through different means, their commitment to ensuring economic sustainability,” Pope Leo wrote.