Pope St. John Paul II—Letter to Artists

By James T. Majewski ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 22, 2019 | In Catholic Culture Audiobooks (Podcast)

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“Artists are constantly in search of the hidden meaning of things, and their torment is to succeed in expressing the world of the ineffable. How then can we fail to see what a great source of inspiration is offered by that kind of homeland of the soul that is religion?”

Today, in honor of the feast of St. John Paul II, we take a brief departure from Newman and the Fathers to bring you St. John Paul II’s Letter to Artists.

Karol Wojtyla, as he was known prior to his election to the papacy, was an artist himself. A poet, a playwright, and an actor who co-founded and performed with one of the most important Polish theater troupes of the last century, Wojtyla left behind an artistic legacy often overlooked for his many contributions elsewhere.

With Letter to Artists, however, it seems evident that St. John Paul remained an artist at heart his whole life.

This reading is slightly abridged, forgoing many of the specific examples St. John Paul employs to illustrate various moments in art history.

You can find the full text at https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_23041999_artists.html

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