12 may, 2008
| On the morning of June 2, a Via Lucis (Way of Light) was blessed and inaugurated by the Most Rev. António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima. It was donated to the Shrine of Fatima by an Italian Catholic lay group called ‘Witnesses to the Risen One’. The Via Lucis, designed and painted by Italian artist Vanni Rinaldi, has been installed in the hall between the Chapel of the Resurrection and the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, in the Area of Reconciliation in Most Holy Trinity Church. It consists of 14 pictures representing the Mystery of the Resurrection of Christ, from the moment of Christ’s Resurrection all the way to the day of Pentecost, when the Risen Christ sends the Holy Spirit to His disciples. The ceremony, held at the Basilica of the Shrine of Fatima, began with Holy Mass. During the homily, Bishop António spoke of the Resurrection of Christ as ‘something humanly impossible’, “the great joy of the Gospel’, which brought about a permanent change in mankind, since ‘with the Resurrection of Christ a new era begins for men”. “We all know of the Stations of the Cross, in which we contemplate and interiorize the Mystery of the Passion and Death of Jesus. The Via Lucis will help us interiorize all the beauty of the Stations of Light. These are the two faces of the same coin, that is, of the Mystery of the Resurrection of Christ”, thus explained Bishop António, who went on to pray to the Risen Christ: “Risen Lord, God With Us, restitute to us confidence in life, in goodness, in the beauty of life”. The prelate is of the opinion that on the ‘Sacred Way of Light’ one acquires “the pedagogy of faith, which helps us contemplate, interiorize and live this beauty and this hope which come to us from the Risen Christ”. After Mass, followed by a procession to the Little Chapel and, then, to the Area of Reconciliation in Most Holy Trinity Church, the numerous group of pilgrims took part in the ceremony of the blessing and inauguration of the fourteen pictures of the Via Lucis. Immediately upon arriving at the location, the group sang the hymn “He’s Risen! He’s Risen! Alleluia!’ At the location of the installation of the Via Lucis, the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima restated “the profound meaning of the Via Lucis”, which speaks to us of the beauty and great joy of human life. Turning to the Italian artist, author of the pictures, Bishop António said that they were “a genial work of art”, considering that they “bring artistic visibility, in beauty and richness, to a Risen Christ Who still walks with us today”. The Donor: ‘Testimoni del Risorto’ The Via Lucis has been donated to the Shrine of Fatima by the group ‘Testimoni del Risorto’ (Witnesses to the Risen One). It is a group of more than five hundred members, specially Italian lay people. Fr. Sabino Palumbieri, founder of the movement, explained to journalists that it was started 24 years ago, makes part of the large Salesian Family and intends to show and announce the whole Paschal Mystery, including Christ’s Resurrection. Recapturing the thought of St. Augustine – “God is happy, God wants you to be happy and God makes you happy” – the Movement ‘Testimoni del Risorto’ starts with the joy of Christ’s Resurrection and takes off to announce the joy of being a Christian, as well as confidence and hope, as the great challenges for today’s mankind. One of the ways used for this announcement of the Good News of the Resurrection of Christ is the arts. There are several Vias Lucis, of different kinds, installed in various parts of the world. The Shrine of Fatima is one more of those places. The Artist: Vanni Rinaldi The artist chosen to design and paint the Via Lucis for Fatima goes by the name of Vanni Rinaldi. Italian, born in Soverato (CZ) in 1937, Vanni Rinaldi lives and works in Rome since 1950. He is a painter, engraver, designer and illustrator; began his career in 1968 during the ‘Biennale d’Arte’ of Rome. After the ceremony of blessing and inauguration, Vanni Rinaldi, in declarations to the journalists present in Fatima, stated to be “an honor and a great privilege” to have his work (represented) at the Shrine of Fatima, place “recognized as a universal center of faith”. Rinaldi recalled also the initial difficulty in accepting this job, in which he chose to use a “recomposed and reconstructed” language, which – he admits – may cause a certain initial difficulty to the viewer, due to the superposition of images that seek to express, by means of iconography, a very important moment of our Christian faith. Just in time for the inauguration, the Shrine of Fatima published, in Portuguese, a small leaflet titled ‘Via Lucis’, describing each of the stations, written by the artist himself and based on the text “In Camino com il Risorto” (Walking with the Risen One), by Fr. Sabino Palumbieri, who, besides being founder of the Movement, is also Professor of Theological Anthropology at the Salesian ‘Pontifical Athenaeum’, in Rome. ----------------------------- ARCHIVE: In Fatima, on June 2, a Via Lucis (Way of Light), composed of 14 panels representing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, will be inaugurated in the zone of Reconciliation of Most Holy Trinity Church. The inaugural ceremony will be held after the 11h00 International Mass and will be presided over by the Most Rev. António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, who also will have presided over the celebration of Holy Mass. The fourteen stations were designed by Italian artist Vanni Rinaldi, who was born in Soverato, Italy, in 1937, and who, since 1950, resides and works in Rome. He is a painter, engraver, designer and illustrator who began his career in 1968 in the ‘Biennale d’Arte’ in Rome. |
