‘Encounter’: New Sculpture Installed in Vatican Gardens Fails to Surprise

It matches Novus Ordo theology…

‘Encounter’: New Sculpture Installed in Vatican Gardens Fails to Surprise

We have added a red arrow to help people locate the stunning artwork right away….
(image: © Miguel Figueiredo Lopes / Presidência da República de Portugal)

Did you know Vatican City is run by a woman?

That’s right. Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., is the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. She was appointed to the post by ‘Pope’ Francis on Mar. 1, 2025.

On Thursday, Sep. 24, 2026, she had the honor of presiding over the unveiling of a new sculpture in the Vatican Gardens. Designed by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira (b. 1933), the artwork had already been presented to the public at the Venice Biennale 2023 inside the Vatican pavilion. (Siza Vieira’s other masterpieces exhibited at the Venice Biennale can be admired here.)

The Sep. 24 article “Sculpture and Commemorative Plaque from Portugal unveiled in the Vatican Gardens” on the official web site of Vatican City State explains: “The anthropomorphic sculpture – installed at an elevated point in the Vatican Gardens near an olive tree, facing the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica – is carved from white marble and depicts a slender, stylized figure.”

Good to know.

Here’s what the thing looks like:

The sculpture in all its glory. Any resemblance to a house floor jack is entirely coincidental.
(detail taken from full image here: Governatorato SCV)

A close-up of the top part of the gorgeous figure.
(screenshot taken from here)

Not surprisingly for the Vatican II Church, the statue is entitled ‘Encounter’ (Encontro). It’s important to point this out, since one wouldn’t know it just by looking at it. It might as well be called ‘Ecstasy’, ‘Boilerplate’, or ‘Car Wash’.

The sculpture was inaugurated in the presence of numerous distinguished guests. Among them were the President of Portugal, António José Martins Seguro, and ‘Cardinal’ José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education.

The Office of the President of the Portuguese Republic released a video of the speech given by President Seguro at the site, which includes footage of the assembled guests and the object of their admiration:

.
In her role as Governor of Vatican City State, Sr. Raffaella also gave an address for the festive occasion.

In her speech, published in full here, Sister maintains that the unveiling of the artwork “marks an important moment: an encounter between art, the Pope’s gardens, and the community”. So not only is the work itself called ‘Encounter’, the occasion of unveiling it is one. How about that!

But there is no need to worry about just what one is encountering when beholding this creation, for, as the speaker hastens to add, “all of us … are free to interpret it and to appreciate the inspiration behind its creation.” Phew!

Sister continues: “With its placement in the Vatican Gardens, facing the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the sculpture invites us to commit ourselves to the care of our Common Home and to foster a culture of encounter.” No doubt, that is what everyone will be thinking of who is fortunate enough to cross paths with it.

Apparently a sign for the ‘Encounter’ sculpture was also installed, for the Vatican’s governoratrix says:

The dimensions of the plaque we are installing today — one meter long, 30 centimeters wide and 4 centimeters thick — are also intended to represent an “encounter” with the biblical symbolism of numbers. The length of one meter represents unity and fullness, evoking the one God and the hundredfold mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew in the parables of the lost sheep and the sower, as well as in the promise of the reward of eternal life. The width of 30 centimeters evokes the Trinity and maturity. Thirty, in fact, was the age at which Jesus began his public ministry; there are three Sacraments of Christian Initiation; and the number three also recalls the day of the Resurrection. Finally, the thickness of 4 centimeters evokes the four Evangelists, the four virtues, the four cardinal points and the four seasons.

At least the descriptive plaque symbolizes something spiritual.

Sister Raffaella concludes her speech with these words:

This wealth of symbolism makes the work truly unique. It is our hope that all those who have the opportunity to contemplate it will, in turn, be encouraged to become bearers of the universal message of fraternity that it reflects: builders of bridges and artisans of peace, tirelessly seeking that common good which — as Pope Leo XIV reminds us — gives life to every people, understood not simply as a collection of individuals, but as a living reality in which people learn to recognize the bonds that unite them to one another (cf. Magnifica Humanitas, 62).

People the world over are firmly convinced: ‘Encounter’ can only help in this regard!