The Vatican and Dominican Catholic Church Inaugurate their Pavilions at the International Book Fair

The Vatican and Dominican Catholic Church Inaugurate their Pavilions at the International Book Fair
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 05/05/2011

The Ministry of Culture (MINC) and the General Directors of the Book Fair inaugurated the Vatican and Dominican Catholic Church’s pavilions at the XIV International Book Fair, Santo Domingo 2011.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, representative of the Pope, thanked the Book Fair organizers for the love they showed the Holy See representatives and the warm welcome they gave them.

The event was presided over by Culture Minister José Rafael Lantigua who was accompanied by the president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council of Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi; Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez; Papal Nuncio, Jozef Wesolowski; Monsignor Benito de la Rosa y Carpio and Monsignor Agripino Núñez Collado, among others.

The Holy See’s pavilion, which spans more than 300 square meters, has over 15,000 books for sale. It also has a permanent exhibition of two nearly perfect sculptural facsimiles: Michelangelo’s Pieta and the Good Shepherd. There is also an exhibition of uniforms used by the Vatican’s famous Swiss Guard, whose job is to protect the Pope and the vast collection of manuscripts within the Apostolic Church of the Vatican. These priceless Vatican manuscripts are of universal historical and cultural value.

The books on sale come from various institutions and museums that form part of the Vatican. They can be viewed in the parking lot of the Eduardo Brito National Theater.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, representative of the Pope, thanked the Book Fair organizers for the love they showed the Holy See representatives and the warm welcome they gave them. He went on to explain that the exhibition shows a small part of the Vatican’s cultural diversity. He added that they also seek to demonstrate the relationship between faith and art.

The Dominican Catholic Church’s pavilion was also inaugurated with the opening of the “500 Years of History” exhibition, which displays invaluable historical objects that have been part of the Church for the past five centuries of its existence on the American continent. This exhibition can be seen on the first floor of the Museum of the Dominican Man.

In addition, there is also an exhibition about the lives and work of the prelates Francisco José Arnaiz and José Luis Sáez, to whom this year’s Book Fair is dedicated.
Cardinal López Rodríguez blessed both pavilions and thanked the Dominican government and His Holiness Pope Benedicto XVI for the effort they put into this year’s International Book Fair. He also thanked all those who came to enjoy the Fair and its exhibitions.

The XIV International Book Fair of Santo Domingo 2011 will take place from May 4-22 in the Juan Pablo Duarte Culture Plaza. The Holy See is this year’s Guest of Honor. The Fair will be dedicated to Monsignor Francisco J. Arnaiz and Father José Luis Sáez in commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of the constitution of the Dioceses of Santo Domingo and La Vega.