Pope encourages artists to preach Gospel through their work

Television, film and music artists with Pope Francis at Casina Pio IV today. Image: Vatican Media.

Source: Vatican News

Pope Francis met this week with international film, media and music celebrities at the first 'Vitae Summit' in the Vatican, and encouraged artists to use their gifts to preach the Gospel. Participants including Denzel Washington, Andrea Bocelli, Patricia Heaton and Jonathan Roumie held meetings on Thursday and Friday to begin a conversation on how the arts can have a positive influence on society.

The summit was the culmination of several years of meetings with Pope Francis in his Vatican residence, Casa Santa Marta, with the VITAE Global Foundation founder and president Luis Quinelli and his team.

Pope Francis joined participants at the end of the summit and encouraged them to be "preachers of beauty", because he said, "Beauty is good for us; beauty heals; beauty helps us go forward on our journey."

During their conversation, the Pope and those present focused on the need to reach out to young people, communicate the message of the Gospel, and share stories of witness and accompaniment that stem from an encounter with God.

The Pope pointed to the need to undertake paths of communication that lead to truth, goodness and, particularly for artists, beauty and the path of contemplation.

"A person on a journey is on a quest," the Pope said, noting that art can provide inspiration for those who undertake a journey in the awareness that the Lord is awaiting us.

The Pope also expressed his hope that "art may open doors, touch hearts and help people to go forward."

He also spoke of the need for an ethical conscience for artists. Art, he said, must stimulate "respect for people" and encourage them "to go forward rather than to buy."

"The role of art," he said, "is to put 'a thorn in the heart, which moves us to contemplation, and contemplation puts us on a path."

The following actors, artists and musicians attended: Jessica Oyelowo, David Oyelowo, Edwina Findley, Jonathan Roumie, Patricia Heaton, Eduardo Verastegui, Denzel Washington, Hayley Atwell, Darius Marder, Issac Chung, Pete Doctor, Pauletta Washington, Dan Lin, Marcus Mumford, Andrea Boccelli, J Balvin, Bull Nene, Alessia Cara, Julio Reyes Copello, Eva Cavalli, Alexander Acha and Alejandro Roemmers.

The summit organizers plan to host various international events and initiatives in cities around the world to continue the work begun at this meeting at the Vatican.