This Tuesday, October 15, the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV hosted a conference on the need to recover audiovisual findings from the archives of religious institutions engaged in evangelization activities. In his opening speech, the Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church guaranteed the support of the institutions of the Holy See: “A connection that must certainly be institutionalized at a central level.”
Eugenio Bonanata and Giovanni Orsenigo
The words of Monsignor Angelo Vincenzo Zani, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, were significant during the conference “Cinema and Mission. Audiovisual sources and history of Catholic missions” that took place this Tuesday, October 15 at the Casina Pio IV from the Vatican. In his introductory speech, the prelate reaffirmed the full support of the institutions of the Holy See for the study, conservation and valorization of the audiovisual sources preserved in the archives of the religious organizations involved in the missions.
An important stage
The meeting – explained Monsignor Zani – represents an important stage in a path that is leading to unprecedented attention to the study of audiovisual sources related to Catholicism, placed in critical dialogue with the documentary heritage preserved among the Archive’s funds and the collections of the Vatican Library. “A connection – he stressed – that must certainly be institutionalized at a central level through deep reflection at a scientific and cultural level, but which is also based on initiatives such as the one you have organized.”
The “Audiovisual Memories of Catholicism” Foundation
These events are increasingly linked to the urgent need to systematize an interdisciplinary study methodology, as Pope Francis has repeatedly defended. This innovative approach is materialized in activities such as this Tuesday, October 15, curated by the “Audiovisual Memories of Catholicism Foundation” (MAC) and the CAST Research Center of the Uninettuno International Telematics University, in collaboration with other actors.
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The universal message and the Jubilee
In these cases, it is history that becomes the interpreter of our time. In particular – stated Monsignor Zani – “history suggests to us the need to gather in moments of reflection on the past to also think about our present. Also in this way the Church can count on a valuable renewal of its universal message.” The reference is to the Jubilee of 2025 and to the words of the Pope in his recent message for the next World Mission Day, in which he recalls the need to approach the Holy Year “by intensifying, also and above all, participation in prayer for the evangelizing mission of the Church”, while exhorting the ecclesial community to “continue the path towards a fully synodal-missionary Church at the service of the Gospel”.
From the Pime Agency to the Fides Agency
Gianluca della Maggiore, from the CAST research center, gives a positive assessment of the day. During the work, through photos and videos, many stories were evoked that underpin the missionary commitment of many other religious men and women in a spatial and temporal dimension often far removed from current reality.
Testimonies that confirm the apostolate of organizations known for being on the front line and the important role of audiovisual sources. From the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions to the Order of the Minor Capuchin Brothers, passing through the Congregation of Propaganda Fide and the Fides agency, without neglecting other realities such as the Jesuits (the Canadians in particular); the Brothers of the Christian Schools; the Small Work of Divine Providence; the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the Ursulines of the Roman Union; the Missionaries of Africa; the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
A first cartography
“It is necessary to give new impetus to these topics,” says Steven Stergar, from the University of Udine, underlining the importance of the speakers being able to share the path traveled so far. But the practical objective of the conference was also to carry out a first mapping of the institutions involved and the content in circulation. For this reason, at the end of the meeting a questionnaire was distributed precisely to collect basic information in order to continue the path taken in this activity.
