Observatory for the Church & Contemporary Visual Cultures

Photo by Francesco Gili Courtesy of Dicastero per la Cultura e l'Educazione

International Congress “Educational Constellations – A Pact with the Future”

Dicastery for Culture and Education, Vatican City

Participating in the International Congress “Educational Constellations – A Pact with the Future” organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education at the Vatican marked an extraordinary moment of exchange and reflection.

I was invited to present the vision and first phase of the Observatory for the Church and Contemporary Visual Cultures, a new initiative developed with the Dicastery’s leadership to strengthen dialogue between spirituality and contemporary art. Conceived as a platform for research, education, and collaboration, the project explores how visual culture can shape awareness and foster connection across disciplines and communities.

The presentation focused on the potential for art and spirituality to meet as parallel forms of inquiry: both searching for meaning, both rooted in curiosity, and both capable of revealing how we perceive and inhabit the world. Within this framework, the Observatory seeks to connect artists, thinkers, and institutions through shared learning, visual literacy, and cultural practice.

Speaking within this context offered the chance to share ideas that continue to guide my work: that culture can be a form of care, that dialogue is a creative act, and that images, when truly seen, can become spaces of empathy and understanding.

Photo by Vatican Media

My gratitude to Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Cristiano Grisogoni, and the team of the Dicastery for Culture and Education for their generosity and vision. Meeting Pope Leo XIV was a moment of profound meaning: a reminder that culture, at its most vital, is a language of connection between people, histories, and beliefs.