The Fruition of the Ecclesiastical Museum

4.1. Purpose and aim of the ecclesiastical museum

The ecclesiastical museum is a practical space for the benefit of the public, since cultural goods should serve the mission of the Church. She educates to a sense of history, beauty and the sacred through the cultural heritage created by the Christian community. Its practical purpose is therefore intimately connected to, even if distinct from, the educational function that must be carried out by the museum institution. To distinguish, in order to unite the educational function to that of use, means underlining the importance of the complimentary dimension between the cognitive and the emotional aspects; especially with regard to the life of religious persons, whose acts are defined as expressions of love for God and neighbour that necessitate intelligence, sentiment and will.

All the "places" of Christianity must be open welcoming spaces where "the gospel of charity" is proclaimed through each initiative. The Church has used sensible signs in order to express and proclaim the faith. Even works collected in museums are aimed at catechesis within the community and the announcement of the Gospel outside, so that they may be available not only for the faithful but also for those "outside" in order that each may benefit in his/her own way.

For these reasons the ecclesiastical museum, primarily destined for the Christian community, must be open even to a public of different cultural, social, religious backgrounds. It is the same Christian community that should welcome with the aid of museum employees those who are interested in religious memory, because "Ecclesiae catholicae nemo extraneus, nemo exclusus, nemo longinquus est" (no one is extraneous, excluded or far from the Catholic Church) (Paul VI, Homily - In the light of the splendour of the Immaculate. Greeting and Wishes of Peter to all souls, December 8, 1965 [Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, III, previous citation, p. 742-747]).

The public can be divided into different categories:  the individual visitor, the guided tour, the school group, the scholar. The complex ways to approach the museum suggest the diversified methodologies intended to facilitate the visitor's first impression and understanding of the different cultural needs.

An intelligent organization of reservations and guided tours can render a better service not only to the user but also to the employee. Each museum should organize not only the exhibition itineraries but also additional cultural activities with care.