Pope Leo XIV will launch a contemporary art exhibit focused on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library on September 14. Source: EWTN News.
The exhibit “AQVA Catastrophe and Wonder” will include artwork highlighting a “reflection on water as both a threat and a resource,” according to a press release on Sunday from the library.
Notably, the Pope will inaugurate the exhibition on his 71st birthday, which is September 14.
“AQVA Catastrophe and Wonder” will include the works of French artist JR, American typographer Bill Moran, and Italian chef Fulvio Pierangelini.
According to Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, the Holy See’s librarian and archivist, the exhibit will reflect the pontiff’s desire to bridge the past and the present.
“These exhibitions are intended to foster dialogue between contemporary art and the library’s centuries-old heritage,” Archbishop Pagazzi said in the press release.
“On several occasions, the Pope has emphasised fidelity to the past and fidelity to the future. The present – including the present of this exhibition – can become a home where past and future meet as friends.”
The Vatican Apostolic Library is both the national library of Vatican City State and the library of the Holy See. It was established in 1475 by Pope Sixtus IV, making it one of the oldest in continuous existence. Beyond its extensive collection of important texts and manuscripts, it hosts an elaborate art collection, featuring frescoes and sculptures from the High Renaissance.
The display “AQVA Catastrophe and Wonder” will be open to visitors from September 25 to May 14, 2027.
The Vatican Library’s latest exhibit reflects a recent focus by the Vatican on promoting contemporary art.
In 2025, the library held the “En Route” exhibition from February 15 to December 20, connecting historical journeys to modern pilgrimages through a collection of rare 19th-century travel documents and contemporary artistic interpretations.
During the 2025 Jubilee Year, the Dicastery for Culture and Education introduced Conciliazione 5, a one-room gallery space with a large window onto the main thoroughfare leading to St Peter’s Basilica, Via della Conciliazione.
Beyond the jubilee, the space continues to feature the works of different contemporary artists, making them visible to the tourists and pilgrims who pass the window every day on their way to the Vatican.
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Pope Leo XIV to launch exhibit on water at the Vatican Library (By Ishmael Adibuah, EWTN News)
