'Mediterraneo' exhibition for Syria’s Trappist nuns continues

The exhibition is open until December 23rd. The works of Mauro Valsangiacomo will be used to raise funds to rebuild the monastery of the Trappist nuns of Azeir.


Rome (AsiaNews) - The exhibition "Medietrraneo", which exhibits works by the Swiss painter Mauro Valsangiacomo, will be open until December 23, every weekday from 15.30 to 18.30. The artist describes Mediterraneo, for millennia, as a meeting place between cultures and peoples, even with the current drama of refugees. It is "a stretch of water from which unfinished forms emerge," the possibilities of a still unknown but positive future, full of hope".

Proceeds from the sale of the artworks will be used in the campaign launched by AsiaNews for the reconstruction of the Trappist monastery of Azeir (Syria). Designed for 2005, construction had to be stopped due to the war in Syria. Now the sisters - all Italian - want to launch the construction to give the country a sign of hope.

In a letter to AsiaNews, the superior of the monastery, Mother Marta, says that the construction of the new monastery "helps Christians stay in that land, as Pope Francis wishes" and supports young people to have faith and hope. In addition, the monastery has become a laboratory that offers work to many women left alone to support their family, after their husbands were killed or emigrated elsewhere.

The religious reflects: "We need as a monastery to create employment for us to survive, and so many women from our villages. We will not be able to do a lot, but at least give some families a job ... and if we start, others will be encouraged to do the same, to look for possible and creative solutions ... This was the idea that moved us".