Pope Leo XIV met with writers from around the world, in Rome, on the occasion of the centenary of the Vatican Publishing House. Among the guests was the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu.
Pope Leo XIV met on Wednesday with writers from several corners of the world, gathered in Rome to mark the centenary of the founding of the Vatican Publishing House (LEV), the Vatican publishing house, founded in 1926.
“We need you. We need your imagination, your narrative creativity, and your vivid thinking. We need all of this to create spaces of freedom and authenticity where divine grace can ring out the promise of comfort and peace.”the Pope said, quoted by Vatican News.
Among the guests were Mircea Cărtărescu, along with the American writers Marilynne Robinson and Elizabeth Strout, the French writer Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Jonathan Safran Foer, Colum McCann, Sorj Chalandon, Vittorio Lingiardi, Daniele Mencarelli, Enrico Brizzi and the Spanish writer Julia Navarro, one of the most read Spanish-language authors of the last decades.
Also present was the laureate of the 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature, Jon Fosse, considered one of the most important voices of contemporary European literature.
“Today was a memorable day for me. I had the joy of being received at the Vatican by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in a group of writers from all over the world (…) After shaking hands with His Holiness and exchanging a few words each, we were given an exclusive tour of the Cathedral, empty of tourists, as few have seen it. I am grateful for this amazing opportunity, one of those that you only get once in a lifetime”Mircea Cărtărescu sent on his Facebook page.
He added: “A unique moment, which I never thought I would experience. I thank His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for His great kindness”.
The Sovereign Pontiff expressed his hope that the writers will inspire others to be drawn to the truth, precisely because they themselves are drawn to it.
“In this search for truth, we feel that truth is subtle, revealing itself to us in our inner dialogue with God and in open and respectful dialogue with our neighbor”said the Pope, warning that “we are never masters of the truth; if anything, it is the truth that ‘conquers’ us.”
Pope Leo concluded by thanking the writers for their efforts to sow “seeds of reconciliation, meeting and friendship”.
