Daniel del Castillo González
Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Apostolic Library for the first time as Pope.
And it was no ordinary visit. It coincided with his 71st birthday along with the opening of an exhibition at an institution that is preparing more space to house the library’s collections.
The Pope also recalled a personal coincidence.
POPE LEO XIV
Many of you may not know this, but my mother was a librarian. And today I am here on my birthday, specifically to greet all of you. For the first time as Pope, I am visiting the Vatican Library, following in the footsteps of my predecessors.
The Apostolic Library was formally established in 1475 and today preserves a bibliographic heritage spanning a wide range of fields.
It goes far beyond theology. Its collection includes works on philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine, as well as works from various cultures and religious traditions.
And the pope uses a very specific image to explain the library’s mission.
POPE LEO XIV
The Apostolic Library is a heart. The beating of the heart is a symbol of life. It results from two opposing movements—systole and diastole—a contraction and a relaxation, a movement toward the center and one toward the periphery.
That “diastole” also signifies openness. And today, that openness takes the form of AQVA, the first exhibition that brings the Library’s heritage into dialogue with contemporary artists.
The theme is water, which can be both a destructive force and a source of life.
The Pope concluded with a call to action. Preserve the past, but without becoming trapped in it.
