{"id":1485,"date":"2012-10-31T19:33:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T19:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/sistine-chapel-reveals-light-of-god-pope-says-on-500th-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2012-10-31T19:33:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-31T19:33:00","slug":"sistine-chapel-reveals-light-of-god-pope-says-on-500th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/10\/sistine-chapel-reveals-light-of-god-pope-says-on-500th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Sistine Chapel reveals light of God, Pope says on 500th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2012 \/ 01:33 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Sistine Chapel ceiling is celebrating its 500th anniversary today, and Pope Benedict XVI followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Julius II, who unveiled the masterpiece by saying vespers there.<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict said in his Oct. 31 address that he was marking the anniversary of this \u201cliturgical classroom\u201d with vespers because \u201cthe works of art which decorate it, especially the frescos, find in the liturgy \u2026 their living environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is as if during the liturgical action, the entire symphony of figures comes alive, certainly in the spiritual sense, but also\u2026in the aesthetic sense,\u201d the Pope remarked. \u201cThe Sistine Chapel, encompassed in prayer, is even more beautiful, more authentic; it reveals all of its treasures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe also reflected on what it must have been like to see the ceiling when it was first unveiled on Oct. 31, 1512.<\/p>\n

\tThe frescoes exude light, but they are also permeated with the idea of the light of God, the Pope observed.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThat light, with its power, conquers the chaos and darkness to give life; in creation and in redemption. The Sistine Chapel tells the story of light, liberation, salvation; it speaks of God's relationship with humanity,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

\tVatican Museums Director Antonio Paolucci described the Sistine Chapel as having \u201ca fatal attraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is an object of desire, that essential point of arrival \u2026 for migrants of so-called \u2018cultural tourism,\u2019\u201d Paolucci said in an Oct. 30 L\u2019Osservatore Romano article.<\/p>\n

\tDespite concerns about damage caused by the presence of some five million visitors per year, he explained that the chapel will remain open to the public.<\/p>\n

\tDust and humidity from human perspiration can harm the paintings in the long-run, he wrote, but the chapel will remain open to a limitless number of visitors unless it increases \u201cbeyond a reasonable level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn the meantime, measures will be taken to preserve the frescoes, which Michelangelo spent four years painting (1508 to 1512).<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHowever it is necessary to implement the most advanced technological provisions capable of ensuring the removal of dust and pollution, the fast and effective exchange of air, and temperature and humidity controls,\u201d Paolucci said.<\/p>\n

\tNo artist has achieved quite the same effect as Michelangelo, who \u201cradically changed\u201d the history of art in Italy in particular, and Europe in general, he wrote.<\/p>\n

\tThe likes of his artistic genius will never be seen again, he said, but modern art preservation techniques can keep his illuminating paintings in the Sistine Chapel forever bright.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2012 \/ 01:33 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Sistine Chapel ceiling is celebrating its 500th anniversary today, and Pope Benedict XVI followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Julius II, who unveiled the masterpiece by saying ves…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nSistine Chapel reveals light of God, Pope says on 500th anniversary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2012 \/ 01:33 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Sistine Chapel ceiling is celebrating its 500th anniversary today, and Pope Benedict XVI followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Julius II, who unveiled the masterpiece by saying ves...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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