Pope Benedict gives a blessing after a service to mark the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo’s completion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings.

CNS PHOTO | L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS

Pope Benedict gives a blessing after a service to mark the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo’s completion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings.
November 12, 2012

Standing in the Sistine Chapel under Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes, people are reminded that the world was created by God in a supreme act of love, Pope Benedict said.

Michelangelo depicted the power and majesty of God the creator in a way that proclaimed “the world is not the product of darkness, chaos or absurdity, but derives from intelligence, freedom, a supreme act of love,” the pope said.

He made his remarks Oct. 31 during a prayer service marking the 500th anniversary of the prayer service led by Pope Julius II in 1512 to celebrate completion of the ceiling paintings.