PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT MEMORIALIZING POPE JOHN PAUL II'S LEGACY IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE OPENS TODAY AT THE SHEEN CENTER FOR THOUGHT & CULTUREn
AND RUNS THROUGH APRIL 23, 2017n

This rare collection of photographs documents thirty years of historic meetings between Pope John Paul II and the leaders of the world's major religions. A pioneer in interreligious dialogue, Pope John Paul II's pontificate was marked by unprecedented visits to synagogues, mosques, and places of worship throughout the world. These symbolic gestures laid the groundwork for an Apostolic Program of Interreligious Dialogue that his successors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, continue to advance. The photographs of this exhibit underscore the fact that more meetings of interfaith and ecumenical dialogue took place between 1986 and 2016 than in the previous two millennia. This is a message for our time from a man who witnessed the inhumanity of the Second World War when he was still known as Karol Wojtyla; and made it his mission, as Pope John Paul II, to build a culture of mutual respect and hospitality among religions and people of faith.

This exhibit is a partnership between the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture and the Karol Wojtyla International Association. The mission of the Karol Wojtyla International Association is to develop and strengthen interfaith and intercultural dialogue with the purpose of alleviating all forms of suffering. The organization is comprised of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim members who develop and promote pain relief and palliative care programs for vulnerable populations

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture is a vibrant new cultural arts organization located at 18 Bleecker Street, where the East Village meets Noho. A project of the Archdiocese of New York, the Sheen Center highlights the good, the true, and the beautiful as they have been expressed in the arts throughout the ages. Cognizant of our creation in the image and likeness of God, the Sheen Center aspires to present the heights and depths of human expression in thought and culture, featuring humankind as fully alive. Visit SheenCenter.com for a complete list of upcoming events

"At the Sheen Center, we proclaim that life is worth living, especially when we seek to deepen, explore, challenge ourselves, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, intellectually, artistically, and spiritually."—William Spencer Reilly, Executive Director of The Sheen Center for Thought & Culturen

Next exhibit at the Sheen Center Gallery is by Artist in Residence Christopher Alles beginning on April 27, 2017: "A Peering" https://sheencenter.org/shows/alles/