Pope Leo XIV: We need more beauty in age of technology

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday urged patrons of the Vatican Museums to rediscover beauty in an era dominated by technology.

The pontiff held a private audience on Oct. 7 at the Vatican with the Louisiana chapter of the patrons during their pilgrimage to Rome. The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, founded in 1983, is an international group of benefactors who fund the conservation and restoration of the Vatican’s art collections.

Leo, in his remarks , thanked them for their collaboration and support for the Vatican Museums and invited them to create spaces of beauty in a world where technology is often preferred.

“In an age dominated by technology, in which efficiency and profit often take precedence, it is so important that we continue to cultivate a spirit of contemplation and allow time and space for beauty,” Leo said.

He also added that fostering this attitude would “greatly help humanity, especially young people, not only to discover the ability of art to uplift and reveal the depths of the human spirit.”

“Ultimately,” Leo added, “contemplation presents a marvelous opportunity to encounter the God who is beauty, whom St. Augustine described as ever-ancient and…