Papal yellow for the white evening

Miguel Lorenci

Madrid

This year, the grand museum night will be marked by the colors of the Vatican flag. Yellow, the color of the Vatican flag, will shine alongside white in the fifteen museums that will open their doors for free on the night from Saturday, June 6 to Sunday, June 7. It will be the "White and Yellow Night," a historic evening to which several parishes and institutions are joining.

The initiative expands the cultural and artistic dimension of Pope Leo XIV's historic visit, with his iconic stop at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This museum night "is one of the many examples of the Church's cooperation with civil society and cultural institutions," celebrates Yago de la Cierva, the coordinator and mastermind behind the papal visit to Spain.

In this special and festive museum night, those arriving in Madrid to attend the apostolic journey's events, and anyone who wishes, can enjoy nocturnal and free access to 'Las Meninas' at the Prado Museum (until 00:30 hours), 'Guernica' at the Reina Sofia (until 23:30) or 'Mata Mua' at the Thyssen-Bornemisza (until 00:00) among other wonders.

Participating in the initiative are the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, the Gallery of the Royal Collections, the Naval Museum, the Museum of the History of Madrid, and the Museum of San Isidro. Some will select pieces from their collections that resonate with the papal magisterium. This is the case for 'Christ and the Samaritan Woman' by Alonso Cano, a gem from the Academy of Fine Arts, symbolizing the overcoming of ideological and human boundaries.

Private institutions such as CaixaForum, Fundación Telefónica, and Fundación Mapfre, as well as Banca March which opens its gardens, like the Temple of Debod. The Reina Sofía Higher School of Music will offer a concert in its auditorium, and the Teatros del Canal will host the event 'No la debemos dormir,' with special programming for youth that includes concerts, Spanish dance, or DJ sessions.

Some Madrid parishes with architectural, historical, and artistic value will open their doors in the early morning as spaces for silence and prayer, allowing pilgrims to visit, pray, and rest in them.

The White Night was instituted in Paris in 2002 to bring cultural and artistic heritage closer to society. It arrived in Madrid in 2006 and later spread to cities like Barcelona, Bilbao, Burgos, Málaga, Albacete, or La Laguna.

Symbolic

Yellow is a nod to the colors of the Vatican flag. The golden yellow is one of the two vertical stripes of the papal flag. White symbolizes the sky and the grace of Christ, and on it are drawn the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Yellow evokes the gold of the heavenly keys, a symbol of Saint Peter and the supreme authority of the Holy Father.

Pope Pius VII created the current Vatican flag. To prevent Napoleon from turning the Papal State into a puppet, he ordered on March 13, 1808, the loyal forces to replace the traditional red and yellow insignia - the colors of the Senate and the Roman People adopted by the papacy - with a white and yellow one.

• Museums and participating entities

  • Prado National Museum. Until 00:30 hours, with free access from 19:00.

  • Reina Sofía National Art Center Museum. Until 23:30 hours, with free access from 19:00.

  • Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. Until 00:00 hours, with free access from 19:00.

  • Gallery of the Royal Collections. Until 01:00 hours.

  • Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Until 02:00 hours, with free access from 19:00.

  • CaixaForum Madrid. Until 00:00 hours, with free access from 20:00.

  • Naval Museum. Until 00:00 hours.

  • Espacio Fundación Telefónica. Until 00:00 hours.

  • Fundación Mapfre. Until 01:00, with free access from 20:00 hours.

  • Museum of the History of Madrid. Until 02:00 hours.

  • Museum of San Isidro. The Origins of Madrid. Until 02:00 hours.

  • Temple of Debod. Until 02:00 hours.

  • Garden of Banca March. Until 04:00 hours.

  • Teatros del Canal. From 00:00 to 05:00 hours.

  • Reina Sofía School of Music. Concert from 22:00 to 23:00 hours with prior registration.

• More topics
• Reina Sofía Museum
• Prado National Museum
• Pope Leo XIV
• Vatican