The Vatican Library houses one of the most important collections of Hebrew manuscripts in the world—and this week, professionals from around the world are gathered at the Library to unlock the stories behind those sacred texts.
ABP. ANGELO VINCENZO ZANI
Archivist and Librarian, Vatican Apostolic Library
We start to dialogue on the basis of the sacred texts that are preserved here so that they do not remain hidden in a museum, but rather become an incentive for a dialogue that must lead us to confront the great challenges of today.
The group gathered at the Vatican this week is the inaugural class of a specialized training program born from an initiative prompted by Pope Francis after he had a private meeting with 21 Latin American rabbis, where the Pope insisted they visit the Vatican Library. This paved the way for the students to get special access to it.
ABP. ANGELO VINCENZO ZANI
Archivist and Librarian, Vatican Apostolic Library
We made an exception to show them one of the books kept in our rooms with controlled temperature for preservation. These books go back to the 8th, 9th and 12th centuries. They are very precious books and from this meeting, we had a desire to do something with them.
The training program exists to not only study the manuscripts, but also to continue fostering dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.
CLAUDIO KUPCHIK
Rabbi
I use the manuscripts of the Vatican Library in my research and my studies regularly, because they are available digitally on the internet. But to have the opportunity to see them in person, right there, was too good to pass.
The Library's Hebrew manuscript collection includes Torah scrolls, biblical texts and Jewish literature. The Vatican Library hopes to expand the program in the years ahead and continue to build on the intersection between academia, culture and interreligious dialogue.
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