Pope to Spirit and Arts Foundation: You are seeds of hope

By Vatican News staff reporter

The Pope received members of the “House of the Spirit and the Arts Foundation” (Fondazione Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti) during an audience on Friday in the Vatican.

The Foundation is a non-profit organization where “the values of the Christian faith, the need for inter-religious dialogue, and the lay values that focus on the dignity of every person, collaborate to encourage and accompany the growth and development of the weakest people from all over the world.”

The group's aim is to recover the dignity of the people involved by letting them express their talents through cultural and artistic paths.

During the audience, the Pope individually thanked all those involved in projects and activities, including refugees mastering the art of tailoring; the musicians of the multi-ethnic orchestra; single mothers with their children and those with disabilities who prepare the violins; and the hosts for the celebration of the Eucharist.

He also greeted the inmates and staff from the Italian prisons of St Victor, Opera, and Alba, all based in the Lombardy region.

Seeds of hope

The Pope told those gathered that he was thanking them because they were “seeds of hope.”

“With the support of the Foundation,” he added, “you are giving signals that oppose the culture of discarding, which is unfortunately widespread. Instead, you are trying to build, with 'discarded stones,' a house where there is a climate of social friendship and fraternity.”

But he underlined, “God's mercy is greater, and if we accept each other as brothers and sisters, He forgives us and helps us to move on.”

The audience concluded with a performance of the "Violin of the Sea," a piece composed by Nicola Piovani and performed by the musicians of the multi-ethnic orchestra which also featured a violin made from the wood of migrants' boats.