Bible Reading Marathon on Italian Media

Within days of the opening of the synod, it is already bearing its first fruits by bringing Italy back in contact with the word of God.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Those who find fall in Rome disappointing due to its dearth of foliage would be heartened by the swathes of scarlet and fuchsia that brighten the streets these days. These brilliant hues however, are not produced by the first chills of autumn, but by the arrival of hundreds of bishops and cardinals for the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God.But as the Bible is not reserved only to the prelature, so the festivities for the synod have not been confined within the walls of the Vatican; Rome itself has found a way to celebrate the word through a 24-hour-a-day Bible reading at the Church of Santa Croce.

This reading, which, in a remarkable collaboration between Church and state is broadcast day and night on Italian television, began Sunday as Benedict XVI voiced the opening words of Genesis. Over 1,200 people will read in a myriad of languages before the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, concludes the series Saturday.
Fittingly, this initiative takes place in the church built by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine, which contains the relics of Christ's Passion. As the readers reach the narrative of Jesus' suffering and death, they will be in the very presence of the cross upon which he died and the thorns which crowned his head.

The Italian media, irrespective of political alliances, splashed the news across the national newspapers, reporting the presence of movie stars, authors and musicians.Roberto Benigni, the Oscar-winning director of "Life is Beautiful," already well-known for his intense love of Dante, riveted the attention of young and old on the event by reading a passage from Genesis.Within days of the opening of the synod, it is already bearing its first fruits by bringing Italy back in contact with the word of God.

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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Italian campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.