THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Sculptress: Marielle Heessels (Netherlands)

The parable story, Luke (10,25-37): A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and on the way he was attacked by robbers, who stripped him, beat him and left him half dead. By chance, a priest came down that road and, seeing him, passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw the wounded man, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was travelling along that same road, saw him and moved by compassion, took pity on him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, put him on his horse and took him to an inn where he was cared for. The next day, the Samaritan took two coins, gave them to the innkeeper and said to him: 'Take care of him and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

The exhibition begins with a scene dedicated to brotherhood, concern for others and empathy. An ancient story, universally known, starting point for a reflection on the contemporary world.The parable of the Good Samaritan emphasises the latter's behaviour towards the person in need of help. Jesus illustrates the concept of ‘love of neighbour’, inviting us to overcome cultural, social and religious barriers. The artist plastically represents the episode as described in the ancient texts; in the foreground, the Samaritan assists the man in distress, under the indifferent gaze of the figures in the background who have instead passed by, careless of the call for help.

AN INJURED AND ABANDONED STRANGER
Sculptor: Vadim Gryadov (Russia)

The subject of the work is a figure of a woman, grieving, folded in on herself to cover her face and her pain. Suffering gleams in an overbearing way from the figure, which has been made on a oversized scale compared to reality in order to emphasise the message. The subject overwhelms us, almost invests us with its force, to make us realise how huge its importance is. We spectators, small in front of the scene, feel a sense of weakness towards the person in need of help. Despite being a unknown person, the artist wants to evoke in us a feeling of empathy, and make us reflect on the possibility that each of us may have to intervene and help those in need of assistance. Thus, the first negative meaning we find in the parable of the Good Samaritan is represented: abandonment. The final intention of the work is to encourage a spirit of solidarity and generosity.

THE INDIFFERENT... PASS BY
Sculptor: Richard Baldrick Buckle (United Kingdom)

The second negative meaning we find by delving into the parable of the Good Samaritan is indifference. The English sculptor represented this concept by setting it in modern times and placing at the centre of the work the figure of a homeless man, sitting along a congested road, totally ignored by passerbys. The size of the man compared to the people in the foreground in the reversed perspective (those closest to us appear smaller than those in the background), makes him the true main actor of the scene, instead of being left on the margins of society. The work makes us reflect once again on our attitude towards people in need of support, inviting us to think about how social marginalisation is very often the result of indifference towards particular situations.

UNCONDITIONAL HELP
Sculptor: Enguerrand David (Belgium)

Two individuals, opposed by society and its constructions, find themselves linked by an essential gesture: one helps the other, transcending the antagonisms that, in another context, would have separated them. The heart of the sculpture is the Red Crystal, a smooth and open space, contrasting with the roughness of the surrounding rock. This crystal, a symbol of neutrality and mutual help, represents both a base and a refuge. In the centre, a void, a hollow space from which this unexpected encounter between the two figures emerge. The details of the sculpture focus mainly on the arms and hands, to mark the gesture of support. This work wants to be timeless and universal. It invites us to reflect on our unconditional capacity to reach out to others. It is a tribute to mutual help despite adversity.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world's largest humanitarian organisation.
The symbol of the Red Crystal on a white field came into force thanks to the Third Protocol in 2005 and was proposed with the aim of freeing the movement from all national, political or religious connotations. It is supposed to offer protection to people who bring aid to areas of conflict and who do not want to use existing symbols such as the Cross and Crescent with the intention of remaining completely neutral.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME"
Sculptor: Kuba Zimacek (Czech Republic)

What better marks time than a clock? This is the object that occupies most of the sculpture, because this is where we focus our attention: on the time that marks our days. Are we willing to dedicate time to others, especially those who need it most? This sculpture is an exhortation to interrupt the mechanism of our lives, which are always in a hurry and punctuated by a thousand daily commitments, by breaking the gear, in order to interrupt this haste and allow us to concentrate on those gestures of mutual aid aimed at those who may need our help. The artist comments on his work: ‘Time is precious, and once lost, it never comes back. When you help others, you are sharing your personal time. Talent is given to everyone not only for personal use, but to enrich the lives of others. Your special gift is the only one you can give for the benefit of others.’

THE JOURNEY OF UNION: HOW HELPING OTHERS ELEVATES US
Sculptress: Helena Bangert (Netherlands)

Every encounter with someone in need offers us the chance to change our perspective. Do we remain passive or do we move towards them? By helping to carry the burdens we encounter in our lives, we create a sense of togetherness, where strength and meaning reside. Those who help are not just helping someone else; they are also moving towards a deeper understanding of solidarity. The crucial point then becomes the fact of not acting alone, as individuals, but as a group, as a family because ‘the whole is greater than the part, but it is also greater than the sum of its parts’. The scene depicted by the artist, with the unmistakable ‘unfinished’ style that characterises her works, represents a group of figures in the act of accompanying an elderly man in difficulty to cross the street.

BECOME YOUR NEIGHBOUR, UNIVERSAL BROTHER
Sculptress: Hanneke Supply (Belgium)

The world in the centre, surrounded and embraced by different figures of different origins, ethnicities and religious faiths, skilfully represented in the different characterisations of somatic features and traditional iconography of each culture. This is the intrinsic meaning of this sculpture: putting aside cultural and thought differences and willing to help others, supporting each other, overcoming the differences that distinguish us. The circular motion, which characterises the entire work, makes us reflect on how, working side by side, we can act by providing our help, and at the same time be helped by our neighbours. There should be no hierarchy, only brotherhood. This work invites us to get closer to others and create connections of unconditional mutual help.

MEETING OF POPE FRANCIS WITH THE GREAT IMAM AHMED EL-TAYEB
Sculptor: Dimitrij Klimenko (Russia)

The sculptor presents a portrait of two great figures, the highest symbol of two different religions, who share a vision of peace and brotherhood, as Pope Francis recalls in these words: ‘In my fraternal meeting, which I fondly remember, with the Great Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb, we resolutely [declared] that religions must never incite war, attitudes of hatred, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or bloodshed. These tragic realities are the consequence of a deviation from religious teachings. They result from political manipulation of religions and interpretations made by religious groups that, throughout history, have taken advantage of the power of religious sentiment in the hearts of men and women. God, the Almighty, does not need to be defended by anyone and does not want his name to be used to terrorise people'. In the background, the artist has finely reproduced the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel.

VULNERABLE FAMILIES IN UNKNOWN LANDS
Sculptor: Pedro Mira (Portugal)

In this work, the focus is on the concept of family, starting with what in Christian culture is the family par excellence: Mary, Joseph and Jesus. The Holy Family, depicted during the journey to Bethlehem, in the days before the birth of Christ, becomes a symbol of all those families that encounter moments of difficulty and uncertainty along their way. This scene is meant to remind us of the vulnerability of families, especially when they are in foreign countries, seeking refuge. The figures, depicted life-size, attract our attention precisely to evoke in us empathy and allow us to reason about our behaviour towards them.

UNIVERSAL BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Sculptor: Slava Borecki (Ukraine)

While maintaining the theme of brotherhood as the main thread of the exhibition, it was decided to include a work that prompts reflection on the concept of universal, political, social but also environmental fraternity, proposing universally known figures who have spread this message despite not belonging to the Catholic religion.
Here are the main characters, portrayed with great precision and accuracy by the artist:
- Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest political and spiritual leaders of the 20th century, a universal symbol of the struggle for justice, freedom and human rights.
- Martin Luther King a leader in the civil rights movement in the United States, known for his fight against racial discrimination and social injustice.
- Jane Goodall, one of the world's most respected and influential scientists and activists whose commitment to environmental conservation and animal protection, had a lasting impact on society. Today, she continues to inspire and lead initiatives for a more sustainable and compassionate world.

NATIVITY
Sculptors: Ilya Filimontsev (Russia), Susanne Ruseler (Olanda), Michela Ciappini (Italy)

The Nativity scene is one of the most evocative and significant sacred images in the Christian tradition and symbolically represents the concepts of hope, humility, humanity and love. The enormous sculpture measures 10 metres in width and 5 metres in hight and was created from a sketch by Ilya Filimontsev, which was then realised together with the sculptors Susanne Ruseler and Michela Ciappini. The central scene evokes a feeling of peace and serenity, the atmosphere is filled with deep spirituality and a feeling of hope. On the left we find the three Kings, depicted as wise men from distant lands who bring their symbolic gifts to the newborn child. On the opposite side is the traditional presence of the shepherds, who are represented by female figures, precisely to draw attention to the figure of the woman, until now almost totally excluded from traditional representations of the Nativity. Both figures are characterised by Middle Eastern somatic features to remind us of all those fragile people who are forced to live through the terrible consequences of war. The young girl brings a flower to her heart as a sign of gratitude, while the little girl expresses wonder and inspires us to perform virtuous acts.

THE BEST OFFER
Sculptor: Radovan Zivny (Czech Republic)

This sculpture is dedicated to a young boy who sacrificed his life to help his fellow citizen. The sculptor proposes to touch the tragedy in a symbolic and very abstract way in order to focus on the brave and extremely generous act of the victim, rather than on the brutality of the act that cannot be undone. Such an act is a higher self-sacrifice, an act of offering one's life to protect someone else, a rare trait to find in our ego-driven society. The sculpture attempts to focus on the moment of the offering of the ‘inner self’ by placing the hands in a symbolic gesture. Imagining a person's essence as a crystal, it expands in space to express its movement by the offerer, is split and even broken to enact the moment of pressure and violence. The crystal also has, with a little imagination, the shape of a lotus flower, a symbol of purity, strength and rebirth in Eastern philosophies, qualities embraced by the young man ready to sacrifice his life for others.