Cardinal de Mendonça: Silence Will Be Declared Intangible Heritage
Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Culture and Education and head of the Vatican Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, predicts that silence will be declared an intangible heritage of humanity. In an interview with Artribune, he discusses his poetic inspirations (the hedgehog and the snail, referencing Jacques Derrida), the importance of history over the past, and the enduring human need for the sacred. He cites Etty Hillesum's testimony in a concentration camp as an example of the inextinguishable search for God. Looking to the future, he offers three ideas: declaring silence intangible heritage, valuing compassion, and rediscovering pilgrimage. He also references Pope Francis's principle that time is superior to space, and Rilke's advice to young poets.
Key facts
- Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça is prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and head of the Vatican Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
- He predicts silence will be declared an intangible heritage of humanity.
- He cites Jacques Derrida's metaphor of the hedgehog crossing the road to describe poetry.
- He references Etty Hillesum's testimony of kneeling in a latrine at a concentration camp.
- He offers three ideas for the future: silence as intangible heritage, valuing compassion, and rediscovering pilgrimage.
- He quotes Pope Francis: 'time is superior to space'.
- He advises young artists following Rilke's 'Letters to a Young Poet'.
- The interview was published by Artribune.
Entities
Artists
- José Tolentino de Mendonça
- Jacques Derrida
- Etty Hillesum
- Rainer Maria Rilke
- Pope Francis
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- Ludovico Pratesi
Institutions
- Dicastery for Culture and Education
- Vatican Pavilion
- Venice Biennale
- Artribune
Locations
- Vatican City
- Venice
- Italy