Partnering with the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
Through international collaboration with the Holy See, the Foundation supports the preservation and study of shared cultural heritage, strengthening scholarly exchange and long-term cultural ties between Portugal and the Vatican.
In 2021, the Gaudium Magnum Foundation – Maria and João Cortez de Lobão and the Holy See established a partnership focusing on the preservation, study, and sharing of the cultural heritage that connects Portugal and the Vatican.
A key initiative was a year-long restoration programme (November 2021–November 2022), dedicated to works by prominent Portuguese humanists whose writings — preserved in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (BAV) — reveal Portugal’s central role in the intellectual life of Renaissance and early modern Europe. Figures such as Pedro Hispano (Pope John XXI), Pedro Nunes, Damião de Góis, and Amatus Lusitanus are among the many represented in this extensive effort.
As a symbolic gesture of this partnership, the Foundation offered the Vatican a rare 15th-century manuscript of sermons by Saint Bernardino of Siena — a volume previously absent from the BAV’s holdings.
This ongoing collaboration reflects the Foundation’s commitment to safeguarding memory, supporting scholarship, and deepening cultural ties through meaningful international cooperation.
Date Published:
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Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, OWL Newsletter no. 18 (April–June 2021)
