Benedict XVI gives artwork by Peruvian to CELAM conference

Aparecida, Brazil, May 16, 2007 / 13:32 pm

The central hall where the members of the Latin American Bishops’ Council are meeting for their 5^th General Conference is adorned with a painting made by a Peruvian artist and given to the bishops as a gift by Pope Benedict XVI.

The painting, a retablo by Eduardo Velasquez, adorns the central hall where the bishops will be meeting until May 31.

Velasquez’s retablo, which he painted by hand and features two main panels and five lateral panels, features an image of the Risen Christ in the main section with the words, “I am the way, the truth and the life”/ “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Seen from the front with the side panels closed, the retablo features the papal coat-of-arms, the theme of the 5^th conference: “Be disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ so that our peoples may have life in Him,” the signature of the Pontiff and the date of the beginning of the meeting.  On the right is a painting of Our Lady of Aparecida.

On the inside panels the retablo features paintings of St. Toribio of Mongrovejo, patron of the Latin American bishops; the passage on the Wedding feast at Cana, the encounter of Jesus with his first disciples and the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish.  In addition, it features a painting of St. Rose of Lima, the first saint of America, the encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, Pentecost and St. Juan Diego, to whom Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared.