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Pope Leo XIV Inaugurates AQVA Water Exhibit at Vatican Apostolic Library for 71st Birthday
Leo XIV inaugurated the AQVA water exhibit at the Vatican Library on his 71st birthday. The exhibit, AQVA: Catastrophe and Wonder, centers on water and humanity's fears and hopes.
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5 of 6 outlets skipped it: a decree repeals 2021 COVID-related salary cuts for Vatican employees.
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Birthday and Vatican Library
Pope Leo XIV marked his 71st birthday at the Vatican with the launch of an art exhibit focused on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library on Monday, Sept. 14.
“The pontiff launched the 'AQVA Catastrophe and Wonder' exhibit on Sept. 14.”
The pontiff inaugurated the exhibit, “AQVA,” part of the theme “Catastrophe and Wonder,” which will be on display at the Vatican Library through May 14, 2027.
In remarks at the inauguration, Leo described the Vatican Library as “The Apostolic Library is a heart,” and said “A beating heart is a symbol of life.”
Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, the Holy See’s librarian and archivist, told EWTN News that “Generations are intertwined,” as the exhibit put “together a centuries-old library and contemporary artists.”
Exhibit, artists, and dates
The exhibition “AQVA” includes an enormous art installation inspired by Gustave Doré’s iconic 1866 wood engraving of the Great Flood, along with marine artwork by American typographer Bill Moran and pieces from the Vatican’s permanent collections.
The Vatican News account said the messages of good wishes arriving at the Vatican included themes of peace, unity, and the defence of human dignity, as Pope Leo XIV entered his 72nd year.
ABC7 Chicago reported that the exhibit will open to the public from Sept. 25 through May 14, 2027, and said photos showed the pope viewing the installation “Diluvium” by French artist Jean Rene, known as JR.
Mi Diario said the exhibition will open to the public on September 25, 2026 and remain available until May 14, 2027, on specific Friday and Saturday sessions.
Decrees and staff changes
On Monday, the Vatican published a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts that Pope Francis had imposed on many Vatican employees as part of the Holy See’s COVID-19 cost-saving measures.
“The Vatican published a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts”
The Independent reported that the decree said the salary-containing measures “can now be overcome,” and it described the cuts as including a 10% cut on pay for cardinals.
The Independent also said Leo published another decree canceling Francis’ plans to move some of the Vatican’s secret archives and library holdings out of the city state and onto the grounds of a pontifical university across town.
National Catholic Register reported that Leo decreed a new building be constructed in Vatican City to house the Vatican Library’s growing manuscript collection, noting that current storage was insufficient after Pope Francis’ 2024 move of parts of the library to the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary building near the Basilica of St. John Lateran.