But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual encounters, Pope Francis’ visit Sunday stood out.
Francis hit on both messages during his visit, which began in the courtyard of the Giudecca prison where he met with the women inmates one by one.
He urged the artists to embrace the Biennale’s theme this year “Strangers Everywhere,” to show solidarity with all those on the margins.
He acknowledged that Venice over the centuries has had a long, complicated, love-hate relationship with the papacy, despite its central importance to Christianity.
Several popes have hailed from Venice — in the past century alone three pontiffs were elected after being Venice patriarchs.
And Venice hosted the last conclave held outside the Vatican: the 1799-1800 vote that elected Pope Paul VII.
Francis said as much as he closed out Mass in St. Mark’s before an estimated 10,500 people.
“Venice, which has always been a place of encounter and cultural exchange, is called to be a sign of beauty available to all,” Francis said.
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Throughout history, art, religion, and nature have all converged to create an ethereal gem of a city known for its contrasts, breathtaking beauty, and devastating fragility. This is Venice. Still, Pope Francis’ visit on Sunday was noteworthy, especially for a city that takes pride in its unusual encounter culture.
Francis went to the lagoon city to see the Holy See’s pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art exhibition and have a conversation with the artists responsible. The project took on a more nuanced meaning when the Vatican chose to host its exhibition in Venice’s women’s prison and allowed the prisoners to work with the artists. This was because Francis believed that art had the ability to inspire and bring people together, and that it was important to provide hope and support to the most vulnerable members of society.
During his visit, which started in the Giudecca prison courtyard where he spoke one-on-one with the female inmates, Francis was able to grasp both messages. Francis encouraged them to see their incarceration as an opportunity for “moral and material rebirth” as some of them sobbed. “.
Francis said, “Parallelly, a stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in ourselves and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute.”.
Francis then had a meeting with Biennale artists in the prison chapel, which was embellished with a Sonia Gomes installation, a Brazilian visual artist, that featured objects hanging from the ceiling with the intention of drawing the viewer’s attention upward. This year’s Biennale theme is “Strangers Everywhere,” and he urged the artists to embrace it in order to demonstrate support for everyone who is marginalized.
The Giudecca prison, a former convent for reformed prostitutes, is now one of the must-see attractions of this year’s Biennale thanks to the Vatican exhibit, though admission requires advance reservations and a security check. The wall mural by Maurizio Cattelan, which depicts two enormous, filthy feet and is reminiscent of Caravaggio’s own dirty feet or the feet that Francis consistently washes on Holy Thursday for the inmates, greets guests at the entrance and has grown to become an unusual art world darling.
In addition, prints in the prison coffee shop by former American social activist and Catholic nun Corita Kent are on display, along with a short film featuring the prisoners and Zoe Saldana.
Francis’s disorienting morning visit, culminating in Mass in St. Mark’s sq\. marked an increasingly rare appearance for the 87-year-old pope, whose mobility and health issues have prevented him from traveling overseas this year.
Furthermore, navigating Venice is difficult due to its 436 bridges and 121 islands. Francis, however, managed to pull it off, flying in from Rome by helicopter, taking a water taxi across the Giudecca Canal, and landing in St. a pontoon bridge built specifically for the event to cross the Grand Canal and reach Mark’s sq\. in a miniature popemobile.
Francis acknowledged the miracle that is Venice, praising its “enchanting beaty” and tradition as a hub of East-West interaction while cautioning that it is becoming more and more vulnerable to climate change and depopulation, during a meeting with young people at the famous Santa Maria della Salute basilica.
According to Francis, Venice is one with the waters it is surrounded by. “If this natural environment isn’t protected and cared for, it may possibly disappear. “.
Rising sea levels and the effects of overtourism are causing Venice, which is sinking, to try to restrict the kind of day trips that Francis took on Sunday. This experiment is just getting started.
A trial program to charge day trippers 5 euros ($5.35) each on days of high travel demand was introduced by the Venetian government last week. The intention is to make the city more livable for its declining population by encouraging them to stay longer or visit during off-peak hours.
The new tax plan, in the opinion of Archbishop Francesco Moraglia, the Catholic patriarch of Venice, is a worthwhile experiment that may be a necessary evil in the effort to keep Venice a livable city for both residents and tourists.
The first pope to visit the Biennale, Francis, according to Moraglia, was a welcome boost, particularly for the women of the Giudecca prison who took part in the exhibit as tour guides and as main characters in some of the artworks.
Though the papacy is fundamental to Christianity, he acknowledged that Venice has had a long-standing, complex, love-hate relationship with it over the ages.
The remnants of St. Mark, the head of St. The first pope, Peter, had his coronation here in the basilica, one of the most significant and magnificent in all of Christianity. Numerous popes have come from Venice; in the last century alone, three pontiffs were chosen after serving as patriarchs of Venice. And the final extra-Vatican conclave, which elected Pope Paul VII in 1799–1800, took place in Venice.
However, for centuries prior to that, the Papal States and the independent Venetian Republic had tense relations as they fought for dominance of the church. The territory of Venice was effectively excommunicated by interdicts issued by Popes in Rome against it. Venice exercised its power once more by driving out entire orders of religious people, including Francis’ own Jesuits.
Giovanni Maria Vian, a church historian and former editor of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, whose family is from Venice, said, “It’s a history of contrasts because they were two competitors for so many centuries.”. Venetian independence was fiercely guarded against the papacy’s desire to rule over everything. “.
According to Moraglia, Venice was gratefully receiving Francis with open arms, in keeping with its history as a cross-cultural bridge. The troubled past, she said, has long since passed.
Beyond the unifying language of beauty and culture, he said, “the history of Venice, the DNA of Venice — there’s this historic character that says that Venice has always been a place of encounter.”.
As he concluded Mass in St. Mark’s in front of roughly 10,500 individuals.
According to Francis, “Venice is called to be a sign of beauty available to all,” as it has always been a place of encounter and cultural interchange. “Leading from the front, a token of brotherhood and concern for our shared house.
. “.
