Overview
- At a Vatican audience on December 11, Pope Leo XIV addressed students and faculty of the Pontifical Institute for Christian Archaeology on its 100th anniversary.
- He released an Apostolic Letter titled "On the Importance of Archaeology," underscoring the field’s role in scholarship and cultural engagement.
- The Pope called on researchers to practice cultural diplomacy to build bridges across nations and to counter prejudices through their work.
- He cited his November visit to Türkiye for the 1,700th anniversary of Nicaea as an example of archaeology supporting prayer with other Christian leaders and advancing unity.
- He affirmed the discipline’s scientific identity, recalled its 1925 founding by Pius XI through the Motu Proprio "The Primitive Cemeteries," linked its mission to Europe’s Christian roots, and situated its work between the Church’s themes of peace and hope.