Bible of Compassion

Bible of Compassion

Pope Francis I (b. 1936) announced that 2016 would be the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, a period of remission for sins and universal pardon focusing specifically on God’s forgiveness and mercy. To celebrate this special event, the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana helped to organize the creation of the most beautiful Bible of the 21st century, the Picture Bible of Mercy, a part of the sales of which is donated for the benefit of a children’s hospital in Africa. The 24 x 34 cm Bible comprises 1,024 pages and contains the German translation of the Old and New Testaments in the entirety. It is illustrated with 350 splendid miniatures, 270 of which are adorned with precious gold leaf, taken from the most beautiful manuscripts from over 40 significant libraries worldwide. These miniatures represent a sampling of ten centuries of illumination. It is housed in a hard leather binding with gilded embossing, corner fittings, and claps with a special removable cross with a ruby on the cover. The preface for the text was personally written by Pope Francis, adding further to the desirability of this singular Bible.
The miniatures featured in this extraordinary edition represent manuscripts including:
• St Albans Psalter, Hildesheim Cathedral Library
• Wenceslas Bible and Gothic Picture Bible, Austrian National Library
• Strahov Evangeliary, Strahov Monastery in Prague
• Mirror of Salvation, Czech National Museum
• Stammheim Missal, Getty Museum in Los Angeles
• De Lisle Psalter and Bedford Hours, British Library
• Hamilton Bible, Berlin Museum of Prints and Drawings
• Psalter of Saint Louis, Bibliothèque nationale de France
• Salzburg Missal, Bavarian State Library
• Bible of Federico da Montefeltro inter alia, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana