An incessant appeal for peace and constant attention to Creation. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, General Director of the Laudato Si’ Higher Education Centre, blesses, with these intentions, the nativity scene set up inside the village of Castel Gandolfo. A particular work, the fruit of the Mexican artist’s ingenuity Tiburcio Soteno, one of the most famous masters of the Metepec tradition whose works are also exhibited at the British Museum in London. Made up of 17 clay statues decorated in a sustainable way using ancient techniques passed down for generations, it was donated by the former rector of the Guadalupe basilica, Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce. The artist’s son, Israel Soteno, and his wife Blanca Jiménez arrived in the Lazio town to restore the statues before the exhibition.
«Welcoming a nativity scene created by Mexican artists with clay and natural colors to Borgo Laudato si’», explained the cardinal, «is an gift of hope. A sign of rebirth, of care for Creation, of fraternal collaboration between peoples”.
