The private hearing of Michele entrusted and his son Antonio with Pope Francis.
by Antonio Tarzia
When we talk about Jubilee we speak (also) of art and crafts. The Holy Year, in fact, is not only a spiritual flourishing, but it is also a new era of works of art and charitable commitments. Michele entrusted, Crotone goldsmith, also nicknamed “the goldsmith of the popes”, has dedicated his life to the precious art of rare stones, gold and silver creating works that combine tradition and innovation. Entrusted he had, for the jubilee year, the assignment by Pope Francis to create some sculptural tiles inspired by his papal magisterium. If his work has also had international recognition over time, in his life the relationship with the Vatican represented one of the most significant aspects.
Where does the attendance start from Vatican environments from?
«My path in the Vatican started from a meeting with John Paul II and since then I have been careful in the creation of works of sacred art, which have seen me alongside the last three popes. For Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis I also made precious liturgical vestments with the related papal coats of arms. Fundamental was my attendance with Monsignor Piero Marini, papal ceremonies, and with Monsignor Paolo De Nicolo, then regent of the prefecture of the pontifical house, two people very close to John Paul II, with whom I have established a relationship of profound esteem and friendship . It was Pope John Paul II precisely to let me know the cult of the Madonna of Częstochowa ».
You have received the task of creating the new Diademes of the Madonna of Czestochowa, queen of Poland, on the 300th anniversary of the first coronation.
«Yes, it’s true. I began to meet the Madonna of Częstochowa in 1982, when John Paul II visited Crotone. On that occasion, he was given an icon with the images of the two Madonne, that of Capocolonna and that of Częstochowa, accompanied by the writing: “A Mother Filii” (a mother, many children). I was impressed on that sentence, because I was already seeing a figure very similar to ours in the Madonna of Częstochowa. Both black, with the child in his arms. They are the representations of Theotokos, with the mother and son crowned with double crown. I never thought that one day the fathers Paolini Pocochi would have commissioned me the realization of the diademes for the sanctuary of the Madonna of Częstochowa, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the first coronation to replace the crowned crowns in 1909 “.
When preparing an icon or a religious work with the faces of Mary and Jesus, what proves knowing that entire populations, kneeling, will pray in front of that object consecrated in a church or in a place of worship?
«In my early youth, although I had always lived by Cristiano engaged, I did not have this sensitivity to spiritual life. Then, after the meeting with St. John Paul II and after the coronation of the prodigious icon of the Madonna of Czestochowa, I realized that I had taken an uphill road and at the same time even in depth. When I have a job in my hand that will become a liturgical or devotional icon, I often think of how much the noble Calabrian scholar Cassiodoro told his monks copyists and miniaturists: that the three fingers engaged in the apostolic operation of multiplication of the Word of God were Prayer and blessing tool. The medieval Orthodox monks who painting the icons on their knees were also aware of this, they sang Psalms and perfumed the environment with incense “.
How did your vocation to this fascinating and precious art come about?
«I think artists are not born, but it becomes after years of study and research. For example, I was born and raised in Crotone, in the San Pietro square, where once, in an adjacent road, there were several goldsmith’s shops. My approach to the world of goldsmith’s art began at the age of 12, while in the morning I went to school and in the afternoon I attended an goldsmith’s shop. For 10 years I learned the processing techniques and back in 1987 I opened my first laboratory in the city of Crotone ».
She was commissioned by the Vatican Secretariat of State to create works for Pope Francis, the sculptural tiles inspired by the Papal Magisterium to be allocated to the heads of state and government on the occasion of the Holy Year 2025.
«Receiving the request to create works for the Holy Father filled us with joy and pride. Together with my son Antonio, we studied themes dear to the Pope such as globalization, the welcome of migrants and the care of the creation in light of climate change. The works created are bronze sculptural tiles that represent some scenes, from which their titles: “Dialogue between generations”, where a young man tends to hand to an elderly person; “Reception and fraternity”, in which you see two hands stretched towards humanity without distinction of creed or race; “Care of creation”, with two hands supporting a vase from which new life blossoms and with a background that represents the work of man on nature. In addition, tiles of the Madonna icon “Salus Populi Romani” and the Madonna “Mater Ecclesiae” were created.
Have you met Pope Francis?
«As far as I realized, together with my family, I had the honor and grace to meet Pope Francis. During the meeting, the Holy Father manifested appreciation for the works created, enjoying the beauty and in particular the ability to communicate the human and social meanings of one’s magisterium. Referring to the sculptural wilt “Dialogue between generations”, he said that it is not only the union of generations, but makes it clear that you can look at a person from top to bottom, to help her liftYes. It’s a beautiful message! ».
What did you transmit to your best disciple, that is, your son Antonio?
«The first teaching I gave to my son was honesty, because working with precious and expensive metals requires being honest first of all with themselves, then with others because customers are our employers. In addition, I taught him humility. The art of orafo is similar to that of the potter: gold and liquid gold and silver are like the ductile clay, a matter that is not only in the artist’s hands, but which has also been in the creator’s hands to give form to man. To Antonio, I have always said I feel man among men, all the same for rights but unique and unrepeatable as people. The qualities of each are gifts of God of which we are responsible and free in management ».
