Ignatius: Spirituality through art

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The Peter-Hans Kolvenbach Library of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, in collaboration with BeWeb, the web portal of Ecclesiastical Goods, has organized an exhibition of some of the ancient volumes used in the thematic tour: "Ignatius: spirituality through art". The aim of this initiative is to contribute to the knowledge of the recently reopened Library, and of the Ignatian tradition, on a platform that allows people from all over the world to access works of art that are normally found in protected places.

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On June 5 it was possible to admire these bibliographical rarities up close, with the extraordinary exhibition in the Library, to all lovers of the subject. Fr. Bernardo Gantier, a Jesuit from the Collegio Pio Latinoamericano, historian and artist, presented the material on display and placed it in the context of one of the characteristics of the Ignatian spirituality: the encounter between imagination and rigor. The historian pointed out that the personality of Saint Ignatius had led him, from an early age, to imagine and dream of greatness. His spiritual tour has preserved these traits and redirected them, but his interest in pilgrimage and novelty has never abandoned him. The application of the senses, in the Ignatian spirituality, allows precisely one form of "play": to be present at the events narrated. His interior pilgrimage led him to enter into the intimacy of the Trinity... and into glory.

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This is what Brother Andrea Pozzo, painter-artist, has been able to make felt in his masterpieces. Part of BeWeb's thematic tour is dedicated to him. Also noteworthy are the works of Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit whose playful spirit has led him to true scientific discoveries, and those of Angelo Secchi, considered the father of astrophysics and who, if his work was mainly marked by rigor, needed imagination to venture into discovering the world of stars.

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For better understanding the history and spirit of this virtual exhibition, we invite you to read the presentation (in Italian), published in the proceedings of the Congress of 3 June 2019, in which the Library participated. In this presentation it is said that: "It is a pride and a cultural richness for the Library to possess and preserve these treasures, and to transmit them to future generations fascinated by the history and spirituality of an Order that has never lost its physiognomy.”

Click here to access the BeWeb website.

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Posted by Communications Office - Editor in Curia Generalizia
Communications Office
The Communications Office of the General Curia publishes news of international scope on the central government of the Society of Jesus and on the commitments of the Jesuits and their partners. It also handles media relations.

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