Pope Francis going to Venice to promote an art in service of the poorest | CPT PPP Coverage

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Eleven years into his pontificate, Francis has eventually earned a nickname in the Vatican: the pope of surprises. “With him, everything is possible,” is often said in the Eternal City. These words will be used again on Sunday, April 28, as the successor to Benedict XVI passes through the gates of the women’s prison in Venice.

This is how he chose to begin his visit to the Venice Biennale, a first for a Bishop of Rome. It’s the same place of closure and confinement, on the island of Giudecca, that the Holy See has chosen to build its official pavilion. Like all visitors coming to admire the exhibited works, Pope Francis will be guided by inmates.

This approach is typical of how he views art and artists. “For him, art and the social dimension are intimately linked,” analyses a source in the Vatican, where it’s believed that the Church cannot avoid dialogue with art. The Argentine pope has even entrusted a renowned poet, José Tolentino de Mendonça, with this delicate mission. At the head of the Dicastery for culture and education, this Portuguese cardinal has overseen the modalities of the Holy See’s participation in the Venice Biennale.

“Obviously, the pope cannot see art as the concern of an international elite,” confirms Bruno Racine, director of Palazzo Grassi, a contemporary art museum in Venice belonging to François Pinault, one of the richest Frenchmen. “For Francis, art must help us change our perspective, especially on those we don’t usually see, but who also have their dignity,” adds one of the two commissioners chosen by the Vatican for the Holy See’s pavilion. A dignity that Francis will hear in the poems written by the inmates, under the direction of Lebanese–American sculptor and poet Simone Fattal. “Francis sees prison as the failure of a system,” insists a Vatican source.

“Your art strives to act as a conscience critical of society”

“There is a desire to restore a more sustained dialogue between the Church and artists,” continues Bruno Racine. “With its own language and autonomy, art can aid in advancing causes related to the upholding of human rights, which reflects the sensibility of the pope.”

The willingness of Francis to engage in dialogue with artists is a continuation of his predecessors, including Paul VI. “Paul VI wanted to have a connection because he was committed to the principle of dialogue itself, John Paul II encouraged artists to return to the sources of their vocation, Benedict XVI to speak the truth, and Francis to become bearers of social struggles,” according to Vatican sources.

In June 2023, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Vatican Museums’ modern art collection, the pope praised artists’ ability to “dream of new versions of the world”. In front of 200 artists from 30 countries gathered in the Sistine Chapel, he continued: “Your art strives to act as a conscience critical of society, unmasking truisms revealing the obvious. You want to make people think, to be alert; you want to reveal reality also in its contradictions and in those things that it is more comfortable and convenient to keep hidden.”

These words that could also resonate in the women’s prison in Venice, as they may also be heard in St. Mark’s Square, Sunday late morning. Pope Francis will celebrate Mass there facing the lagoon. Before returning to the Vatican by helicopter, hoping to have left his mark, in his own way, on the Venice Biennale.