Pope will visit art exhibit held at women's prison in Venice

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will go to Venice in April to visit a women's prison where the Holy See has set up its pavilion for the Venice Biennale, a major international contemporary art exhibition.

The pope will make the one-day trip April 28, according to a joint press release Feb. 13 from the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Patriarchate of Venice.

He will visit the Holy See pavilion at the Giudecca women's prison, and he will meet with the church community of the patriarchate, it said. Details of the final program were to be "announced soon."

The prison, which used to be an ancient convent, is on Giudecca Island, south of the historic center of Venice. With the help of a local cooperative, the inmates grow organic produce for sale to the public as well as create cosmetics, bags and accessories from recycled PVC products, and customized silk screened clothing and items.

The Holy See pavilion is dedicated to the theme of human rights and to those who live on the margins of society, "where our eyes rarely end up," the dicastery said in a press release Feb. 8.

The event runs from April 20 to Nov. 24 with the title, "With my eyes," inspired by the pope's insistence that people go outside their comfort zone and pay attention to realities that are ignored and often left out of cultural discussions, it said.

The pavilion will feature works by international artists, including the late Corita Kent, a pop artist and former U.S. member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, and U.S. actress Zoë Saldaña-Perego and her husband, Italian film director and artist Marco Perego-Saldaña.

Pope Francis' last trips in Italy were in 2022 when he visited Matera for the conclusion of the 27th national eucharistic congress, Assisi for an "Economy of Francesco" event and L'Aquila for the opening of the basilica's holy door.