“Reawaken wonder”: this is the task Pope Francis entrusted to artists on the morning of February 20, when he received the members of the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo in a private audience to mark its 75 years of activity.
“Spread the echoes and reflections of the Word and Face of Christ”
The Foundation was established by the Italian Bishops’ Conference in 1947 to spread and promote film culture in Italy. It is currently chaired by Monsignor Davide Milani, who, at the beginning of the meeting, addressing Pope Francis, recalled that the Foundation’s mission is to “recognize and spread the echoes and reflections of the Word and Face of Christ, which contemporary cinema is increasingly rich in.”
Among the approximately two hundred artists present at the historic meeting with the Holy Father, held in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, were Oscar winner Giuseppe Tornatore and Liliana Cavani. Both received the Bresson Award, in 2000 and 2018 respectively, the only film award conferred by the Holy See (more precisely, by the Dicastery for Communication and the Dicastery for Culture and Education) together with the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo.
Cinema and art are expressions of God
After handing Monsignor Milani the speech prepared for the occasion, Pope Francis spoke off the cuff: “I like the work you do, the work of cinema, the work of art, the work of beauty as a great expression of God, which has always been set aside, or at least pushed into a corner.” He then added that “beauty is that work of the Holy Spirit that makes everything harmonious: opposites, contrasts, everything…”.
And he concluded by saying: “If we want to assess the great works of cinema, we can say that only those works that have managed to express harmony, both in joy and in sorrow, human harmony, are the ones that go down in history. For this reason I thank you for your work. It is evangelical work. Also poetic work, because cinema is poetry: giving life is poetic. And I thank you greatly for your journey: keep moving forward, keep moving forward, following the great ones. You, as Italians, have a glorious history in this regard, a glorious history. Keep moving forward. Thank you.”
“Reawaken wonder”
In the text he gave to the members of the Ente dello Spettacolo and to all those who work in various capacities in the world of cinema, Pope Francis focused on the first page of the Bible. Precisely in the account of creation, one can also find the deepest meaning of the artist’s cultural work and vocation: “On this sacred page, dear friends, directors, actors, women and men who work in cinema, we can also find the meaning of your cultural work. On the one hand there is creative action; on the other, contemplation and evaluation. It seems to me that you can see yourselves reflected in this marvelous biblical fresco, which has fascinated so many artists and never ceases to amaze and stimulate the imagination and reflection.”
Finally, he entrusted artists with the task of “reawakening wonder.” This is an essential aspect of evangelization because, as the Holy Father notes, “the world, troubled by war and so many evils, needs signs and works that inspire awe, that allow God’s wonder to shine through - God, who never ceases to love his creatures and to marvel at their beauty. In an increasingly artificial world, where human beings have surrounded themselves with the works of their own hands, the great risk is losing our sense of wonder.”
“Beauty moves us forward”
Antonio Albanese was also among those present. In an interview with Avvenire, he said: “I am proud to have been here with the Holy Father, and I am taking away a truly great emotion, truly: an incredible emotion. […] We must not forget Pope Francis’s words. We must understand that beauty moves us forward, that beauty gives us the possibility to grow, never to fall behind. Because it is the driving force, it is energy, in a word, it is… beauty. […] We must pass these marvelous words of the Pope on to young people, to our children, and this is the commitment we must undertake.”
