In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you, the members of the Bizot Group, representing some of the world’s most prestigious museums. I greet your President, Dr Taco Dibbits, and each one of you. Through both your work and your passion, you know well that every museum is a place of memory, beauty and history, fostering encounters between generations and promoting culture and human creativity.

Throughout the centuries, the Church has cultivated a special affinity with the arts, appreciating them in all their forms. Indeed, art is the means by which persons, through their ingenuity, enhance and transfigure matter — that is, the creation in which they dwell as made in the image and likeness of God. The theme of your meeting, “Materiality,” is therefore of particular interest, not only for exploring the relationship between an object and the interpretation of a work of art, but also for reflecting on the distinctive quality of matter as the place in which God chose to reveal himself.

In this regard, I would like to share with you this morning a few brief reflections.

First, matter is available to us, indeed it is a gift entrusted to our care. Through his or her skill, an artist transforms what is at hand and, in turn, makes of it a gift for others. In this way, cultural endeavor brings to light the beauty of creation. Jesus himself “worked with his hands, in daily contact with the matter created by God, to which he gave form by his craftsmanship” (Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, 98).

Moreover, matter is malleable: it can be shaped according to the artist’s ideas in order to express an intuition, giving body or sound to emotions, dreams and words. Indeed, art is a creative process through which human beings, in imitation of God’s work, shape matter and imbue it with a transcendent meaning. In this way, works of art become a sign of that beauty which reawakens the eyes of the heart and mind, directing the human person towards what is above.

Lastly, matter is memory. The works preserved in museums bear witness to a history that speaks to every person, from one generation to the next. Museum objects thus offer to the present the wisdom of the past. The Church, as a pilgrim through time, has understood art precisely in this way: not as mere aestheticism, but as a means of proclaiming the Gospel through beauty.

I therefore congratulate all of you for your efforts in directing and administering the museums to which you devote yourselves, safeguarding a heritage that belongs to all humanity. I offer my best wishes for the initiatives of your Group, and I invoke upon you, your loved ones and all your associates the Lord’s abundant blessings.