President Giacomo Costa, SJ Website SanFidele | Home base San Fedele church | |
Location Piazza San Fedele, 4 20121
Milan, Italy Journals Social Updates, Peoples Affiliations Society of Jesus, Catholic Church | ||
San Fedele Cultural Foundation is an effort of the Society of Jesus in Milan, Italy, to promote dialogue between the Catholic church and contemporary culture, in the interest of the common good and for the promotion of justice. San Fedele promotes creative, culturally significant works – paintings, sculptures, literature, music, film – for their spiritualizing impact, and to give a voice to those on the margins of society. In support of its goals it also sponsors various forms of discourse, publishes two journals, and maintains a research library.
Activities
San Fedele publishes the monthly magazine Social Updates which since 1950 has given in-depth analysis of the social, political, and ecclesiastical situation in Italy, and also the monthly Peoples which began in 1915 as a report on missionary work of Italian Jesuits and now offers analysis and reflection on international issues.
Galleria San Fedele was founded in 1949 and moved to its present location in 1968. It hosts international artists – Lucio Fontana, Marc Chagall, Robert Ryman, Henri Matisse, and Mario Sironi – and awards the San Fedele Prize for young artists. Besides the training of artists, it promotes justice by reflecting the fundamental issues of contemporary political and social life, with exhibitions relating art to faith and culture and probing the meaning of "beauty" in religious art. It "favors the frontier areas within the experience common to believers and non-believers." It also has a film club and concerts to inspire young filmmakers and composers. San Fedele's diverse activities include courses and conferences on "justice and society" and collaboration with Medicare San Fedele and young couples Centro San Fedele.
San Fedele Library was formed in the late 1990s through the merger of five libraries and comprises more than 69,000 volumes, thousands of magazine articles, and 170 foreign journals. along with audio and video materials. The Foundation makes available to researchers its library which includes about 70,000 volumes and 500 active journals.
A recent project of San Fedele in partnership with Heritage House, a private consultancy firm, is course offerings in ethics for business executives, “to foster dialogue between the world of companies, non-profits, institutions, and public administrations, resting on shared common values.”