Expo 2025 Osaka: The Holy See in attendance at the international meeting of participants in Japan

01 July 2024

“Towards a brighter future for all”. On 25 and 26 June the meeting of the countries participating in the Osaka Expo in 2025 was held in Nara, Japan. Among those present was the Holy See, represented by its delegate from the Dicastery for Evangelization – the department responsible for the organization of the Vatican Pavilion. During the two days, in which 600 delegates from 160 countries took part, the guidelines for welcoming visitors and participating in the Universal Exposition, which is due to start on 13 April 2025, were outlined.

For the first time in the history of Expo, the Holy See Pavilion will be hosted by the Italian Pavilion. The Memorandum of Understanding between Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, was signed last 28 June at the Farnesina Palace in Rome. The Holy See will bring the "Deposition of Christ", one of the great masterpieces of Caravaggio to Expo 2025 Osaka, and will have a clearly-designated space to organize cultural events and art exhibitions, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The presence of the Holy See in the Italian Pavilion is particularly fitting given the values ​​and message that Italy plans to bring to Expo. L’Arte regenera la vita - “Art regenerates life” is the title of the Italian presence.

“The Holy See wanted to give continuity to this motto, so our sector will have as its motto La bellezza porta speranza -  “Beauty brings hope”. We have played here on the word ‘porta’ which means both “to bring” and "door". On 24 December this year we will open the Holy Door which will launch the Jubilee Year of 2025, for which we expect around 32 million pilgrims to come to Rome. This is why we decided to link Osaka to the Holy Year. Beauty ‘brings’ us, and leads to that hope that the world today desires in a very particular way," said Archbishop Fisichella. Hope is also the theme that the Pope has chosen for the Jubilee, with the motto "Pilgrims of Hope".

“Our collaboration with the Holy See will be a dialogue that will bring to Osaka the values ​​underlying our culture and our way of doing things,” said Ambassador Mario Vattani, the Commissioner for Italy at Expo 2025. He was speaking from Tokyo, where, on 27 June, he held a first informal meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio to Japan, Archbishop Francisco Escalante Molina.