The Vatican’s Fabbrica di San Pietro receives a challenge from Pope Francis: to use modern technology to preserve St. Peter’s Basilica in a “proper and constructive way.”
By Kielce Gussie
Pope Francis on Monday met with a centuries-old Vatican institution that is charged with the maintenance and preservation of St. Peter’s Basilica—the Fabbrica di San Pietro.
Creativity and responsibility
The Pope challenged the members of the Fabbrica to use the latest technologies to help in their apostolic ministry. He warned, however, that they must be used in a “proper and constructive way, as they certainly hold potential but are also ambivalent.” If not, “it is as if the frame becomes more important than the picture.”
This rule is essential in the care and conservation of St. Peter’s Basilica to ensure it is a “living place of faith and history,” Pope Francis said. For the millions of people who come from around the world to the Basilica, he says it must be a place where all feel welcome: “those with faith and those seeking faith.”
The Fabbrica di San Pietro was founded in 1506
The core of St. Peter’s Basilica
The tomb of the Apostle Peter is at the heart of the Basilica. The Pope urged the Fabbrica di San Pietro to carry out its restoration work in a way that respects the Basilica’s sacredness. It should mimic the mission of the first Pope by accompanying pilgrims and supporting their journey.
To accomplish this, Pope Francis offers three criteria: adopting a prayerful attitude, the gaze of faith, and the touch of the pilgrim. The first requires the institution to use technology to evoke interactive participation by visitors while maintaining reverence for the space. The second criterion is that their work should not be centred on promoting a touristic approach to the Basilica but rather on “investing in new means to tell the faith of the Church and the culture it has shaped.” The third involves putting sculptural, pictorial, and architectural art “at the service of the people of God.”
Restoring the artwork in the Basilica
A hidden mission
Beyond the physical work in the Basilica, the Pope also turned his attention to”another work of art” that takes place in this sacred space. He reflected on the role of confessors, expressing his wish there always be confessors available for those visiting St. Peters. “In this world so artistic and beautiful,” Pope Francis said, “there is also the art of personal communication,” which includes that confessors “must forgive everything.” No matter who they are or what religion, the Pope urged “Let no one leave without a blessing.”
A centuries-old institution
Founded on April 18, 1506, by Pope Julius II, the Fabbrica di San Pietro is entrusted with “deals with everything that concerns the Papal Basilica of St. Peter, which preserves the memory of the martyrdom and tomb of the Apostle,” as Pope Francis outlined in Praedicate Evangelium.
File photo of Fabbrica di San Pietro members working to maintain and restore the Basilica
