Lent in the sign of hope at the Vatican Museums

By Paolo Ondarza

"Christ is risen! He is truly risen!" The certainty of victory over death that occurred once and for all in Jesus resonates in the Easter greeting exchanged by Christians since the early centuries as they celebrate Easter. That "certain hope" that Francis of Assisi asked of the Most High was well-rooted in the faith of the early Christians. The testimonies that have reached us attest to this. The Sarcophagus of the Passion or Anastasis, located in the heart of the Christian Museum within the Vatican Museums, is proof of this. The guided tour proposed for Lent for six consecutive Saturdays to visitors of the pontifical collections begins here.

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From consideration to contemplation

"Art," Sister Emanuela Edwards,  head of Educational Activities for the pontifical collections, explains, "can be a powerful means to remind us of the central aspects of Jesus' life, especially the Paschal mysteries. The great masterpieces help us relive with a certain intensity the events of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord because the beauty of the works takes us from a superficial consideration to the concrete contemplation of the reality of God's love placed before our eyes."

Art and prayer

Observing the carved reliefs on the marble of early Christian sarcophagi, we immediately realize how art contributes to creating a favourable disposition for prayer. The absence of the crucifixion scene is striking. Sister Emanuela Edwards immediately sheds light on the reasons for this: "Early Christians typically used analogies from the Old Testament to symbolize the death and resurrection of the Lord, such as Daniel in the lion's den or the story of Jonah because they found the crucifixion too terrible to represent."

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The Hope of the Resurrection

"In the Anastasis sarcophagus, the Resurrection is rendered symbolically with the cross surmounted by the monogram of Christ to show that He has achieved victory over death." The helplessness of man in the face of the greatness of this mystery is illustrated and symbolized by the sleeping soldiers. "The early Christians were certain that the Lord had risen, and this image expresses their conviction that one day they too would rise with Christ, as Saint Paul says in the Letter to the Romans. This great sarcophagus is now a means for us to reflect on the hope of the Resurrection," adds the nun.

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A new life

From the power of the symbol to the realism of the Word made flesh. The tour continues in the Vatican Pinacoteca, where, in front of Caravaggio's Deposition, Nicodemus' gaze and the perspective of the tombstone make us participants in the drama represented by Michelangelo Merisi of the lifeless body of Christ. Sister Emanuela Edwards invites us to also grasp details that escape a superficial viewing. They are loaded with meaning: "In the lower corner, signs of hope emerge as a plant comes to life, symbolizing new life and the imminent victory of Christ over death."

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With us, until the end of the world

In the Upper Galleries, we find the tapestries of the New School from the 16th century. We pause in front of the Resurrection in which "Christ emerges forcefully from the darkness of the tomb with the banner of victory." What strikes us is His gaze that follows us, as if to evoke His words made possible by the Resurrection: "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." The visit concludes in the Sistine Chapel. The head of the Educational Activities Office of the Vatican Museums has no doubt: "The Last Judgment is the masterpiece of hope par excellence. In this fresco, we see the resurrection of the dead, the fruit of the Paschal Mystery, realized in all its glorious details by the Florentine artist."

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The power of art

The tour organized for Lent can be booked online. It is open to everyone, from families with children to people with sensory, motor, and intellectual disabilities.

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Among the participants are "the curious of the faith" and "visitors interested in the artistic and religious symbolism of the works": "Each tour - Sister Emanuela Edwards observes - is a unique opportunity for evangelization through the powerful medium of art."

Prayer and hope

This year, the focus is inevitably on the great Jubilee of 2025 with its theme of Christian hope: the hope of the organizers of these special Lenten visits at the Vatican Museums is that they may contribute to "transmitting that love for prayer and those seeds of hope that our faith is brimming over with."

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