VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice has always been a place of contrasts, of breathtaking beauty and devastating fragility, where history, religion, art and nature have collided over the centuries to produce an otherworldly gem of a city. But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual encounters, Pope Francis’ visit Sunday stood out.
Francis traveled to the lagoon city to visit the Holy See’s pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art show and meet with the people who created it. But because the Vatican decided to mount its exhibit in Venice’s women’s prison, and invited inmates to collaborate with the artists, the whole project assumed a far more complex meaning, touching on Francis’ belief in the power of art to uplift and unite, and of the need to give hope and solidarity to society’s most marginalized.
Francis hit on both messages during his visit, which began in the courtyard of the Giudecca prison where he met with the women inmates one by one. As some of them wept, Francis urged them to use their time in prison as a chance for “moral and material rebirth.”
DR MARTIN SCURR: How losing your hearing may cause dementia
Dortmund digs deep to beat Atlético 4
Chicago woman pleads guilty, gets 50 years for cutting child from victim's womb
China vows to actively promote restoration of int'l flights
Rose Byrne looks unrecognisable with a bleached blonde beehive wig on set of latest movie Tow
New leader of Jesse Jackson's civil rights organization steps down just months on the job
Salma Hayek, 57, puts on a busty display as she shows off her chest and tiny waistline in a blue
Judge blocks Biden administration from enforcing new gun sales background check rule in Texas
Urshela puts Detroit ahead in the 8th, Tigers hold on for 4
China's first intelligent offshore drilling platform installed
Fritz Peterson, Yankees pitcher who traded wives with teammate, dies at 81