Photographic exhibition
“Giovanni Paolo II – Benedetto XVI”
In visita all’Università Angelicum nel 1994
On the occasion of the John Paul II Semester, the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas (Angelicum) is hosting the photographic exhibition entitled John Paul II and Benedict XVI: a Shared Journey with Mary, Young People and Creation. The exhibition – created in collaboration with the Fondazione per i beni e le attività artistiche della Chiesa – has a quite a history already, having been presented for the first time during a youth pilgrimage at Trent, Italy, in July 2007, and subsequently at Loreto, Rome, Krakow, and finally at Sidney, during the World Youth Day 2008.
The current stage in the tour of the exhibition will be particularly significant because it underlines a very important phase in the life of John Paul II, that of his studies in the early part of his life, during which in this very university, run by the Dominicans, he completed them with a doctorate in Theology.
After his election to the Papacy, Karol Wojtyła also maintained a particular link with his university, returning for official visits in 1979 and 1994. On these occasions, he took pains to underline his affection for her, as well as her bonds with the Order of Friars Preachers to which the University belongs.
In this stage of the exhibition’s tour – which up to now has included 100 panels that take the viewer through some of the most important moments in the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI – 7 new panels will be added, enriching the existing set by covering the presence of the young Wojtyła in the Angelicum and his subsequent visits as Pope.
“Prof Morello, curator of the exhibition along with Msgr Antoni Bednarz, has carried out the difficult task of selecting these beautiful images”, explains the Yearbook 2007 of the Fondazione per i beni e le attività artistiche della Chiesa, “difficult because of the significant difference in the length of time to be considered [for the two papacies], the immense quantity of images from which to choose and, most of all, because of the different characters and the personal and pastoral styles of the two pontiffs. For these reasons, research [for the exhibition] has been focused on three particular areas, that is, their openness towards young people, their love for creation and their Marian devotion, discovering, not without some surprise, and highlighting, the numerous similarities, almost parallel images, on a shared journey, demonstrating a continuity of action that witnesses to the profound unity between these two Pontiffs”.
The sources from which the exhibition was created are largely contained in the photographic archive of the Osservatore Romano, the private archives of Arturo Mari and Adam Buiack (Krakow) and the archive of the Public Relations Office of the Angelicum.
Angelicum, Rome
Some photos of the Inauguration of the Photographc Exibition on John Paul II at the Angelicum that was held in the presence of Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia.
