Obscura Digital, a creative studio based in San Francisco, helped the Vatican kick off the year-long Jubilee of Mercy last week by projecting high-definition images onto St. Peter’s Basilica.
The studio was chosen by the Vatican to provide a visual interpretation of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical (AKA a letter sent to all Roman Catholic Bishops) entitled “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home,” which focused on the global environmental issues, according to Catholic San Francisco. The resulting hour-long light show from Digital Obscura, entitled “Fiat Lux: Illuminating Our Common Home” was publicly shown on Dec. 8, coinciding with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris. (Fiat Lux is Latin for “Let there be light.”)
Described as a gift to the Pope by representatives of the studio, the light show featured pictures of animals facing extinction, examples of societies from all over the world and other breathtaking sights by award-winning photographers, including National Geographic’s Steve McCurry.
“Pope Francis is trying to create a dialogue and we were honored to support his endeavor,” Digital Obscura co-founder Travis Threlkel told Catholic San Francisco. “We’re showing the diversity and glory of God’s creation on the planet, and we’re hoping to inspire the world to have reverence for all things.”
To see the show in its entirety, visit ourcommonhome.world.