As part of the Jubilee Year, the Vatican Museums have opened an exhibit dedicated to the French philosopher, Jacques Maritain, and his close friendship with Pope Saint Paul VI.
MICOL FORTI, Modern and Contemporary Art, Vatican Museums
They met in Paris in 1924. By 1928, Pope Paul VI had translated “The Three Reformers”, one of Maritain’s key works, into Italian and added his own introduction. Pope Paul VI was very young at the time, and shortly after began taking an interest in art. His first articles on contemporary art date from the early 1930s. Their relationship deepened between 1945 and 1948, when Montini was Substitute at the Secretariat of State under Pope Pius XII, and Maritain held the complex and delicate role of French ambassador to the Holy See.
The exhibition also commemorates other key milestones: 80 years since Maritain’s appointment as ambassador, 60 years since the Second Vatican Council, and 50 years since the creation of the Collection of Modern Religious Art, a project spearheaded by Pope Saint Paul VI himself.
BARBARA JATTA, Director, Vatican Museums
Jacques Maritain is an important figure, little known to contemporary audiences, but essential for that post-war era, and especially for the Second Vatican Council and for a spirituality that is not only French, but universal.
A result of collaboration between the Vatican Museums and several French and Italian institutions, this exhibition is a testament to the cultural and spiritual dialogue between two countries, united by art, faith, and history.
FLORENCE MANGIN, Ambassador of France to the Holy See
He played a hugely important role in the friendship and ties between the Holy See and France, and between Italy, Rome, and France. And I must say, combining both aspects is not at all simple, but he did so in a very meaningful way, thanks to his personal and spiritual background.
The exhibition will be open until September 20, offering a journey through their friendship, and, above all, through the contemporary roots and Christian thought of the 20th century.
BAM
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