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Pope Francis releases an Apostolic
Letter entitled "Candor lucis aeternae" marking the 700th anniversary
of the death of the great Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, and highlights the
relevance, timelessness and depth of faith in Dante’s masterpiece: “The Divine
Comedy".
-By Isabella Piro
700 years from his death in 1321,
when exiled in Ravenna from his beloved Florence, Dante still speaks to us. He
speaks to the men and women of today, asking to be read and studied, but also
to be listened to and imitated in his journey towards happiness, that is, the
infinite and eternal Love of God.
Thus writes Pope Francis in his
Apostolic Letter "Candor lucis aeternae - Splendour of Light
Eternal," published on 25 March, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the
Lord. The date is not accidental: the mystery of the Incarnation, stemming from
Mary's full and total acceptance of God’s plan, the Pope says, is "the
true heart and inspiration of the entire poem" for it effected the
prodigious exchange whereby God enters our history by becoming flesh, and
humanity “is taken up into God, in whom it finds true happiness.”
The Popes and Dante
Divided into nine paragraphs, the
Apostolic Letter begins with a brief excursus into the thoughts of various
Pontiffs regarding Dante. Then, Pope Francis dwells on Alighieri's life,
calling it a "paradigm of the human condition" and emphasizing the
"perennial timeliness and importance” of his work. In fact, it is “an
integral part of our culture,” the Pope writes, “taking us back to the
Christian roots of Europe and the West. It embodies that patrimony of
ideals and values that the Church and civil society continue to propose” still
today as “the basis of a humane social order in which all can and must see
others as brothers and sisters.”
Innate desire for happiness
There are two main pillars in the
"Divine Comedy" – the Pope explains - namely "an innate desire
in the human heart" and "fulfilment in the happiness bestowed by the
vision of the Love who is God.” This is why Dante is a "prophet of hope":
because with his work he urges humanity to free itself from the "dark
forest" of sin to find "the right path" and thus reach "the
fullness of life and time in history" and "eternal beatitude in
God". The path indicated by Dante, a true "pilgrimage" - the
Pope points out - is "realistic and within the reach” of all, because
"God’s mercy always offers the possibility of change and conversion".
Dante's women
The Apostolic Letter also gives
prominence to three female figures of the "Divine Comedy": Mary, the
Mother of God, representing charity; Beatrice, representing hope; and Saint
Lucy, representing faith. These three women, who represent the three
theological virtues, accompany Dante at different stages of his pilgrimage,
demonstrating that "we are not saved alone", but that the help of
those who "can support us and guide us with wisdom and prudence" is
necessary. What moves Mary, Beatrice and Lucy, in fact, is always divine love,
"the source of salvation and joy", "to renewed life and thus to
happiness".
Dante and St. Francis of Assisi
The Pope then dedicates another
paragraph to Saint Francis, who in Dante's work is depicted in the "white
rose of the blessed". He sees “much in common” between the Saint of Assisi
and the Supreme Poet: both, in fact, addressed the people, the first "went
out among the people", the second choosing not to use Latin, but the
vernacular, the language of all. Both, moreover, open themselves "to the
beauty and worth" of Creation, a mirror of its Creator. A brilliant
artist, whose humanism "remains timely and relevant," Alighieri is
also – he affirms - "a forerunner of our multimedia culture, because in
his work "word and image, symbol and sound, poetry and dance converge to
convey a single message.”
A message for all
The Pope goes on to congratulate
those teachers who “passionately communicate Dante’s message and introduce
others to the cultural, religious and moral riches contained in his works“ and
he asks that this "heritage" not remain locked up in classrooms and
universities, but be known and spread thanks to the commitment of Christian
communities and cultural associations. He also calls upon artists to "to
give voice, face and heart, form, colour and sound to Dante’s poetry by
following the path of beauty which he so masterfully travelled," so as to
spread "a message of peace, freedom and fraternity". A task, the Pope
says, that is as relevant as ever in this historical moment, “over clouded by
situations of profound inhumanity and a lack of confidence and prospects for
the future.” The Supreme Poet - the Apostolic Letter concludes - can therefore
"help us to advance with serenity and courage on the pilgrimage of life
and faith that each of us is called to make, until our hearts find true peace
and true joy, until we arrive at the ultimate goal of all humanity: The
Love which moves the sun and the other stars”.
Le
Pape François : Dante, prophète d'espérance et poète de la miséricorde
El
Papa: Dante, profeta de la esperanza y poeta de la misericordia
Papst
würdigt Dante als „Prophet der Hoffnung“
APOSTOLIC LETTER
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