Picture of the Week #51 #52 #53 "Under Michaelangelo with Pope Benedeict XVI"

Picture of the Week #51 #52 #53 "Under Michaelangelo with Pope Benedict XVI" Vatican City, Italy 2009 Signed and Stamped

To sit directly under Michaelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel of "The Creation", while Pope Benedict was in front of "The Last Judgement" and spoke to a room full of invited world renown artists was, well, the greatest experience of my life. I am not a religious person. I am a working artist. To be in one of the greatest works of art with one of my heroes' greatest accomplishments sent chills through my body and practically brought tears to my eyes. I felt like all I had worked for in life was now being appreciated. The Pope spoke of the blessing that artists have as they can create beauty. He held out an olive branch to us in asking that we follow making that beauty a reality. He said:

"With great joy I welcome you to this solemn place, so rich in art and in history. I cordially greet each and every one of you and I thank you for accepting my invitation. At this gathering I wish to express and renew the Church's friendship with the world of art, a friendship that has been strengthened over time; indeed Christianity from it's earliest days has recognized the value of the arts and has made wise use of their varied language to express her unvarying message of salvation. This friendship must be continually promoted and supported so that it may be authentic and fruitful, adapted to different historical periods and attentive to social and cultural variations. Indeed, this is the reason for our meeting here today."

And then as if he was speaking directly to me he said:

"Todays event is focused on you, dear and illustrious artists, from different countries, cultures and religions, some of you perhaps remote from the practice of religion, but interested nevertheless in maintaining communication with the Catholic Church, in not reducing the horizons of existence to mere material realities, to a reductive and trivializing vision. You represent the varied world of the arts and so, through you, I would like to convey to all artists my invitation to friendship, dialog and cooperation.

It was truly a moment I will not forget. What it inspires in me to create is still too early to tell. But there was something there. Stay tuned.