While three major Mid-Atlantic cities (Washington, New York, and Philadelphia) hosted this month’s historic visit of Pope Francis, his first to the United States, museums in Philadelphia had the additional incentive of the World Meeting of Families Congress to develop religious exhibits to coincide with his arrival. Many will remain on view until early 2016, providing visitors with opportunities to view works of art, sacred texts, and artifacts depicting religion through the years and throughout the world.
Pope Francis arrived in Philadelphia Saturday, September 26, at the end of an itinerary that included a powerfully emotional speech to Congress in Washington and a speech at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York. In Philadelphia, Pope Francis spoke about immigration and religious freedom at Independence Hall, the nation’s birthplace. Privately owned and on loan to The Union League of Philadelphia, Pope Francis delivered his speech from behind the same lectern President Abraham Lincoln used for the Gettysburg Address. The pope stated that history helps in understanding where we have been, where we are now, and where the road will lead in the future.
The pope’s itinerary in Philadelphia visit included a Holy Mass for 1,600 people at Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and a public Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. With the Parkway enclosed by tight security for the weekend, some museums could not remain open. However, they sought to appeal to visitors during the World Meeting of Families Congress, which preceded the pope’s visit from September 22-25.
The Woodmere Art Museum, which focuses on the works and lives of Philadelphia artists, is displaying an exhibit titled Woodmere Welcomes Pope Francis: Biblical Art from the Permanent Collection until October 18. The exhibition emphasizes how tales from the Bible have been interpreted by artists working in differing social and historical contexts to portray deeply felt faith and contemporary issues. Some of the artists featured include Paul Gorka, Anthony-Petr Gorny, Benton Spruance, and Walter Stuempfig.
The Penn Museum and Penn Libraries Collections are offering an exhibit focusing on the ancient Near East, Egypt and the Bible Lands. Sacred Writings: Extraordinary Texts of the Biblical World will be on display through November 8. The display includes one of the world’s oldest segments of the gospel of Saint Matthew (which dates to the third century CE); two works from an elaborately decorated Qur’an from Iran (signed by its writer in Hamadan in 1164); and the first complete Bible printed in the New World (a 1663 translation of the Bible into the Native American Massachusett language, by Puritan missionary John Eliot).
The Rare Book Department at the Central Free Library of Philadelphia offered extended hours during the week prior to the pope’s visit for its exhibit Sacred Stories: The World’s Religious Traditions, which will continue through January 30, 2016. The display features the department’s unique collection of sacred works that communicate human experiences of belief, faith, and worship, mediated through the written word.
“The exhibition includes a wide breadth of objects and they all have an interesting story and are visually beautiful,” said Allison Freyermuth, Department Head of the Rare Book Department. “Sacred stories are part of our common cultural legacy, both as treasured objects and as texts of study. This exhibition draws from one thousand years of transmitted human history, illustrating the ways we have written, printed, decorated, and illuminated our Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim faiths.
Sacred Stories highlights the unified traditions of scripture in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Featuring both printed and handwritten blessed texts, the exhibit features exquisitely illuminated manuscripts from Europe and the Middle East and notable books, including Martin Luther’s first German New Testament, printed in Wittenburg in 1522, and the first translation of the Qur’an into English, known as the Alcoran of Mahomet, printed in London in 1649. Like the Penn Museum, the library displays the 1663 translation of the Bible by John Eliot.
At the National Constitution Center, Religious Liberty and the Founding of America will remain on view until January 3, 2016. Through documents such as George Washington’s first Thanksgiving Proclamation and a printing of his letter to the Roman Catholics in America, visitors learn the role religious liberty played in the early years of the nation and how freedom of religion became a right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The National Liberty Museum curated an exhibit specifically for the World Meeting of Families titled Building Bridges of Faith: Photographs of Papal Visits to the Holy Land, 1963-2015. For this unique display, which will remain on view until November 1, the Consulate General of Israel to the Mid-Atlantic Region provided the museum with a collection of photographs depicting six decades of fellowship between the State of Israel and the Catholic Church. They include photographs of Blessed Pope Paul VI, Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and, of course, Pope Francis.
The Franklin Institute, which often houses traveling exhibits (including the current The Art of the Brick and Genghis Khan: Bring the Legend to Life), is hosting Vatican Splendors until February 15, 2016. Including many artifacts that have never before left Vatican City, the eleven-gallery exhibit of Renaissance and Baroque art takes guests on a tour of the history of Christianity through religious art created in Rome. One of the main features is a display about St. Peter’s Basilica, where Michelangelo and Bernini were principal contributors.
Michelangelo also is featured in The Wrath of the Gods: Masterpieces by Rubens, Michelangelo, and Titan, an exhibit curated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art that will be on display until December 6. The exhibition centers on Prometheus Bound, by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), and other works that inspired it. The direct connection with Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia is the sole figure in Prometheus Bound, which resembles the primary figure (with regards to position of the body, muscle structure, and the cut on the right side of the body) in The Last Judgement, which is the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the official residence of the pope.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum is selling a 112-page color catalog, produced by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a partnership with Yale University Press. The emphasis on religion and the papal visit does not stop with Wrath of the Gods, however. “We have a self-guided tour of the collections that offers a path for faith, and we have some objects in the Arms and Armor Galleries that have a Papal tie-in,” said Norman Keyes, Director of Communications for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In addition to the ongoing museum exhibits, religious walking tours (including one of Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul) concluded by September 28, the day after Pope Francis left the United States.
At the end of the Festival of Families, held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 26, Pope Francis was offered a section of a mural, commemorating his historic visit, to personally sign. The mural, entitled The Sacred Now: Faith and Family in the 21st Century, was designed by Cesar Viveros and commissioned by the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia 2015 and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Work on the piece began in June and has been worked on by 2,700 people representing 100 countries. Assembling 153 panels and running 4,239 square feet, The Sacred Now is expected to be complete by November 2015 and will be mounted on three buildings making up Saint Malachy School, an elementary school in Philadelphia.
Religion holds a pivotal place in the world of history and historical representation, as evidenced by the many exhibits on display in Philadelphia to mark the visit of Pope Francis. For a complete list, click here.
