Pope Leo XIV affirmed the value of paper books in the midst of the digital age and emphasized that reading "nourishes the mind," in addition to representing a valuable opportunity to proclaim Christ.
He stated this during an audience on May 7 at the Vatican with employees of Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican publishing house founded in 1926 that is celebrating its centenary this year.
The Holy Father indicated that a book "is an occasion for thought" and defended paper printing and the physicality of books in the digital age, as in his opinion it leads the reader to reflection and study.
"Reading is nourishing the mind; it helps to foster a conscious and formed critical sense, to protect oneself from fundamentalisms and ideological shortcuts," he affirmed.
Therefore, he urged people to read books, conceived "as an antidote to mental narrow-mindedness, which is reflected in rigid attitudes and reductive views of reality."
In this regard, he emphasized that books are also an opportunity for encounter: "When we hold a book in our hands, we ideally meet its author. But at the same time, we meet those who have read it before us, or those who are reading it or are going to read it," he highlighted.
Specifically, the Pontiff stressed that for Christians, it can also be an occasion to proclaim Christ. "We know well how reading the biography of a saint or a well-articulated spiritual reflection can move the heart."
Furthermore, he recalled that the Virgin Mary is often depicted in the Annunciation "absorbed in reading the Sacred Scriptures." He also cited Saint Anthony of Padua, who often holds an open Book of the Gospels, on which the Child Jesus stands.
"Saint Augustine," he added, "is often seen seated at a desk in front of a large book, and sometimes he holds a heart in his hand: truth and charity."
In this way, the Holy Father invited the faithful to nourish themselves with the Word of God, "so that it may shape our mentality and our actions," especially in light of the school of the Virgin Mary and the saints.
Pope Leo XIV concluded his speech by recalling Saint Paul VI, who during an audience with the publishing house in 1976 exhorted them to "look forward, to define ideas and programs for the future."
"I thank you for your work, which I hope you will carry out with dedication and passion," Leo XIV concluded.
By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú - Aciprensa
