The venue will focus on the theme "Beauty brings hope" as will the Jubilee in Rome the same year. Through exhibitions, installations, and events, it will offer a reflection on a shared future for humanity starting from the experience of Christian art.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Vatican will be present at Expo 2025, with its own pavilion in Osaka (Japan) from 13 April to 13 October 2025. The world fair is dedicated to “Designing the society of the future for our lives".
The Dicastery for Evangelisation made the announcement today noting that the Holy See's participation will take place in collaboration with the Italian pavilion in a recognisable space that will organise cultural events and important art exhibitions.
For this task, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the Section for Evangelisation in the World of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, who named Mgr Pietro Bongiovanni, parish priest of San Salvatore in Lauro (Italy), and Fr Nuno Alexandre Henriques De Lima, parish priest at the Tamatsukuri Catholic Church, St Mary's Cathedral in Osaka, as vice-commissioners for the event.
The theme of the Holy See's pavilion at Expo will be "Beauty brings hope", which, not surprisingly, echoes that of the 2025 Jubilee during which Catholics from all over the world will converge in Rome for the Holy Year that the Church celebrates every 25 years.
“Today's man lives with multiple hopes thanks to progress in science and technology,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella. “But, as expressed already in the Jubilee, the Expo theme also wants to communicate the importance of hope, in the singular, which comes only from God. Man still needs to hope.”
By exploring art and aesthetics, the Holy See's pavilion at Expo 2025 aims to convey the idea that beauty, in all its facets, can be a source of inspiration and hope to build a more harmonious and participatory society in the future.
Starting from the fundamental role played by art in Christian evangelisation, the Vatican's presence in Osaka will offer a reflection on how beauty can unite people on the path towards a shared future of renewal in spirituality.
Photo: Flickr/Gorimon