Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education, emphasized that artists are “excellent conveyors of language” and “allies in the search for the meaning of life.” He highlighted the latest album by the Catalan artist Rosalía as an example.
During the International Conference on Portuguese and Spanish Languages (CILPE) at the University of Cape Verde, the Portuguese cardinal stressed that in today’s fragmented world, languages “are bridges that build humanity.” He pointed to artists, such as Rosalía, as exemplars of this.
“Artists are sensors. When a creator like Rosalía speaks of spirituality, it means she captures a profound need in contemporary culture to approach spiritual reasons, to cultivate an inner life, to value religious experience as a fundamental experience, a fundamental ingredient in the construction of the human being,” he stated, referring to Lux, the latest album by the Spanish artist.
In his speech, Tolentino de Mendonça also mentioned literary figures such as Miguel de Cervantes, Garcilaso de la Vega, Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Fernando Pessoa, Jorge Luís Borges, Federico García Lorca, and Mia Couto.
“They offer non-speakers the possibility of learning the language so they can sing or read in the original idiom,” reflecting that over the years, many have sought to learn the language to read authors like Miguel de Cervantes. He noted that in the future, people will continue to learn Spanish or Portuguese to read “great” writers, poets, or composers.
The cardinal, who hails from Machico in Madeira, also recalled Pope Francis’s awareness of the “importance of culture,” shared by Leo XVI.
“Religions should engage in dialogue with culture. In a pluralistic world, in our democratic societies, dialogue is fundamental, and dialogue between religions and culture is an added value, an enrichment for all,” he expressed, as cited by EFE.
Lux is Rosalía’s new album (featuring Carminho)
Rosalía’s new album was released last Friday, and the fifteen tracks of the album Lux can be listened to here.
The 33-year-old Spaniard caught everyone’s attention with the launch of the single Berghain on October 27, featuring Björk and Yves Tumor.
The new album presents a different Rosalía, who sings in 13 languages, including Portuguese. Carminho contributes to this album with the track Memória. The fado singer has already marked the album’s release on Instagram, writing, “Thank you, Rosalía, for this beautiful place you created. Fado loves you.”
Rosalía released her album Lux this Friday, featuring the Portuguese artist Carminho. The song Memória brings fado to Spain and the Portuguese language to the 33-year-old singer, who sings in 13 languages on the new album. Carminho has already noted the release.
Who is Tolentino de Mendonça, the cardinal who could have been Pope?
After the death of Pope Francis, discussions began on his potential successor. For the first time since the college of cardinals was established, Portugal had four cardinal electors in the Conclave. Although not one of the ‘favorites,’ Tolentino de Mendonça was considered a potential successor to Francis.
An essayist, playwright, academic, and theologian, he was born in 1965 in Machico, Madeira. He lived in Angola until the age of nine and entered the seminary at 11.
He started his theology studies in 1982 and was ordained a priest in 1990 in the Funchal diocese.
He graduated in Theology from the Portuguese Catholic University (1989), studied Biblical Sciences in Rome, and served as professor and vice-rector of the Portuguese Catholic University, where he pursued his doctorate in Biblical Theology (2004).
In 2011, he was appointed consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture.
After leading the Pope’s Lenten retreat in 2018, he was made a cardinal in 2019.
Tolentino de Mendonça is a poet and professor. Born on the island of Madeira, he studied Biblical Sciences in Rome. He has lived in the Vatican since 2018, where he oversaw the Apostolic Library and the Secret Archives. He currently serves as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. In 2019, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis.
