The imminent Jubilee of Artists is set to take place in the Vatican and is expected to feature a special Jubilee Mass presided over by Pope Francis, who is also scheduled to visit Rome’s iconic movie studio’s ‘Cinecitta,’ marking the first-ever papal visit to the studios.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
The Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture is set to take place in the Vatican from 15-18 February 2025.
A press conference presenting the event took place on Wednesday morning in the Holy See Press Office.
Among the speakers were Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education; Italian Senator Lucia Borgonzoni, under-secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture; Pres. Lina Di Domenico, acting head of the Department of Prison Administration of the Ministry of Justice of the Italian Republic.
Representing the Vatican, Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, offered a discourse, along with Cristiana Perrella, curator of the “Conciliazione 5” Space for the Holy Year 2025, and Raffaella Perna, curator of the exhibition “Global Visual Poetry: transnational trajectories in Visual Poetry.”
The first major event of this special Jubilee will be the opportunity for artists and those who are active in the world of culture to participate in a General Jubilee Audience, with Pope Francis, on Saturday morning.
The Press Conference to present the Jubilee of Artists
Sharing Hope – Horizons of Cultural Heritage
Later that day, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, in collaboration with the Vatican Museum, will jointly organize an international meeting on the theme “Sharing Hope—Horizons of Cultural Heritage.”
The encounter aims to provide a space for museum directors and operators in the art and academic world and cultural institutions to reflect on the current possibilities, methods and languages for the promotion and transmission of the religious and artistic heritage.
At the end of the meeting, which will be attended by international speakers, an educational manifesto on the transmission of the cultural code of religions will be signed.
That evening there will be the opening of the Window Gallery “Conciliazione 5,” located in Via della Conciliazione, and a presentation of the project of Yan Pei-Ming, in cooperation with the Italian Department of Penitentiary Administration and the Community of the Regina Coeli Prison.
On Saturday, Cardinal Mendonca said, the Pope will preside over the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning, and later on in the day, the artists will undertake a pilgrimage through the Holy Door of the Basilica.
Visit to Cinecittà
On Monday morning, for the first time, a Pontiff will pay a visit to Rome’s iconic Cinecittà film studios. During his visit, Pope Francis will meet visit a group of artists and protagonists of the world of culture in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Culture and Cinecittà.
Later that afternoon, there will be a meeting of the Dicastery for Culture and Education with representatives of Catholic cultural centres and ecclesial bodies dedicated to culture at the Dicastery offices.
Transnational Trajectories
Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, there will be the opening of the exhibition “Global Visual Poetry: transnational trajectories in Visual Poetry,” curated by Raffaella Perna, at the premises of the Dicastery located in Piazza Pio XII, 3.
The exhibition is designed to highlight the innovative and topical contribution of the 20th-century art of visual poetry.
