Before the opening of the Holy Doors on December 24, Rome will be filled with concerts and art exhibitions, including rare statues from the Vatican Museums and a concert by one of the world’s oldest orchestras.
Vatican News
Vatican City, Tuesday, October 29, 2024 (REI): On the eve of the start of the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, the Dicastery for the Evangelization of Peoples hosts various events, including concerts and exhibitions. In a press conference, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Diocese, outlined the program of some of the upcoming events.
The story will come to life through music.
A series of concerts beginning on November 3 will mark the countdown to the jubilee. At 6:00 p.m. in the Concilzione Auditorium the National Academy of Santa Cecilia will perform.
Dr. David Mambriani, curator of concerts and shows for the “Jubilee is Culture” program, described the concert as significant. He said this because the Academy “has a special relationship with the Holy See and the Pontifical Office, since it was founded in 1585, when Pope Sixtus V published the decree ‘Ratione Congruite’ that created the Congregation of Musicians.”
“We are all bearers of the same message”
Another important event preceding the Jubilee is the exhibition of several rare icons from the Vatican Museums. 18 different icons were chosen from all over Eastern Europe, including Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Macedonia. Bishop Fisichella affirms that the exhibition is “the fruit of two years of hard work with experts.”
Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, said that bringing together all these icons is an expression of peace and fraternity, because it shows that “we are all bearers of the same message.” The icons will be on display at St. Agnes Church from December 14 to February 16.
Christianity in art
For the first time, the painting “White Crucifix” will be exhibited in Rome from the Art Institute of Chicago, United States. It is the first in a series of works by Marc Chagall depicting Jesus as a Jewish martyr and highlighting the persecution of the Jews in the 1930s. The exhibition will be open to the public from November 27 to January 27, 2025, in the new Museo del Corso – Museo del Polo. Admission is free every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The third exhibition will be the 100 nativity scenes of the Vatican, which will be displayed between the columns of the courtyard of St. Peter’s Basilica. Each year a region or city is selected as a partner. Monsignor Fisichella announced that this eighth edition will be dedicated to Rome. The mangers will remain open from December 8 to January 6, 2025.
Vatican Pavilion at Expo 2025
The Pro-Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization also announced the Vatican’s participation in next year’s World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan. The Vatican will be part of the Italian pavilion and will have the only Caravazzo preserved in a Vatican museum: The Deposition of Christ.
