Pope Leo XIV to launch exhibit on water at the Vatican Library

Pope Leo XIV will launch a contemporary art exhibit focused on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library on Sept. 14.

The exhibit “AQVA Catastrophe and Wonder” will include artwork highlighting a “reflection on water as both a threat and a resource,” according to a July 12 press release from the library.

Notably, the pope will inaugurate the exhibition on his 71st birthday, which is Sept. 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,” Pagazzi said in the press release. “On several occasions, the pope has emphasized 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.…