Pope to Italy: Christianity helped forging national identity | Irish Sun

Pope to Italy: Christianity helped forging national identity

Sun-Sentinel Wednesday 16th March, 2011

Italian Catholics made a fundamental contribution to creating a united Italy and a national identity, in a message marking the country's 150th birthday. Benedict says Christianity helped forge a national identity that resisted political fragmentation on the Italian peninsula and foreign domination. He says the church's contribution came through education, literature and the arts in general, listing such personalities as Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Bernini, whose works were often commissioned for religious purposes.

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