American exhibit to display at the Vatican

CINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati-born exhibit “A Blessing to One Another” will make its most impactful appearance to date when it opens at the Vatican in late July.

CINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati-born exhibit “A Blessing to One Another” will make its most impactful appearance to date when it opens at the Vatican in late July. The exhibit got its start at Xavier University in 2005 and has since been seen by more than 1 million people during its travels to 18 locations around the United States. The exhibit is now set to open at the Vatican Museum. It will showcase the landmark interfaith dialogue between Saint John Paul II and leaders of the Jewish faith.

“Saint John Paul II did more to promote interreligious dialogue than anyone who has ever lived,” said Dr. James Buchanan, co-creator of the exhibit and director of the Xavier University Brueggeman Center for Dialogue. “We take visitors on a journey through the past, but we do so ultimately in the hope that the journey will impact visitors’ futures and the futures of the communities in which they live,” Buchanan added.

The exhibit tells the story of how then-Pope John Paul II shattered the chain of 2,000 years of painful history between Catholics and Jews, becoming the first pope to ever enter a synagogue, officially visit and recognize the state of Israel, and formally engage in an act of repentance for the Catholic Church’s historical treatment of Jews.

“I am proud of the fact that our exhibit has received such positive responses from both the Catholic and Jewish communities, and in the process has become an instrument used to strengthen relations between those communities,” said Dr. William Madges, co-creator of the exhibit and professor of theology at Saint Joseph’s University.

The importance of this exhibit is magnified because the Vatican is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican document considered the single most important document for interfaith dialogue in the modern period.

“It’s incredible to have an American-created exhibit showcasing one of the most transformative periods of the 20th century in the Vatican Museum,” said Rabbi Abie Ingber, co-creator of the exhibit and executive director of the Center for Interfaith Community Engagement at Xavier University.

“A Blessing to One Another” will be at the Vatican from July 28 to September 17.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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