Pope Francis to Diakonia of Beauty: ‘Be cantors of harmony’

By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis welcomed members of the Diakonia of Beauty Association to the Vatican on Thursday, inviting them to continue to help people “dream of a different, beautiful world,” and aspire to “a life of fullness.”

The French group was founded in 2012 to foster dialogue between the Church and artists of all kinds, including painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, and more.

In his address to Diakonia members, the Holy Father reflected on the group’s “event-oriented” focus of the group, aimed at helping artists re-establish “a fruitful dialogue with the Church” through meetings, concerts, performances, and similar events.

A vocation to help artists

The Pope went on to speak about the spiritual dimension of their work, highlighting their “vocation” of helping artists “create a bridge between heaven and earth.” He explained, “You want to awaken in them the search for the truth… because beauty invites us to a different way of being in the world.”

Pope Francis praised the group for their “fruitful apostolate” marked by the establishment of artists’ residences throughout the world. “Your challenge,” he said, “is to bring out the beauty that is hidden” in artists – whose lives are often marked by loneliness and suffering – “so that they in turn can become apostles of this beauty that generates life, hope, and a thirst for happiness.”

Cantors of harmony

Finally, the Holy Father invited members of the Association to be “cantors of harmony” between different peoples, cultures, and religions.” In the context of a world marred by violence of all kinds, he said, “We need men and women capable of making us dream of a different, beautiful world.”

At the same time, he highlighted the “urgent” need to “recreate harmony between humanity and the environment,” insisting that “art is a very powerful medium to convey the message of nature’s beauty.”

“The culture of beauty constantly sets us in motion,” Pope Francis said in conclusion. “Encountering God's beauty allows us to start again, to begin again, on the journey toward more humane and fraternal societies.”