Pope Francis has written a message marking the 100th anniversary of the Permanent Commission for the Protection of the Historical and Artistic Monuments of the Holy See.
In reviewing the longstanding interest of his predecessors in protecting the Church’s cultural goods, the Pontiff emphasized “the public utility of cultural patrimony – from publica utilitas [public utility], a concept derived from the Roman Law – according to which not only public but also private property is subject to the requirements of the common good.”
Pope Francis also cited the “far-sighted words” of Pope Benedict XVI: the cultural assets of the Vatican and the Holy See “can be an extraordinary opportunity for evangelization because, through the various works displayed, they offer visitors an eloquent testimony of the continuous interweaving of the divine and the human in the life and history of peoples.”