Pope calls for creation of cultural center in Lateran basilica (Vatican Press Office)

Pope Francis has charged Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the vicar for the Rome diocese, with the task of organizing a cultural center in the buildings around the basilica of St. John Lateran, making that complex a showcase for “the high artistic traditions of the Church Church.” In his letter to Cardinal De Donatis, made public March 16, the Pope recalled the artistic traditions of the papacy, and expressed his desire to make “available the beauty and meaning of the goods and artistic heritage” of the Holy See.