• The SM Foundation celebrates the twenty years of the project "The experience of God through art" in collaboration with the various dioceses of Spain

• Lugo is the diocese in Spain with the most temples that contain works of sacred art, exceeding a thousand. In Galicia, the number increases to more than 3,500 temples

• The sessions will take place in Lugo on March 24 and 25, to continue in other autonomous communities and other regions

• According to data from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, in the 2020-2021 academic year there were a total of 1,220 Catholic Religion teachers in public and private education in Galicia. More than 6% of Spanish Religion teachers are from this region

Madrid, March 22, 2022 – "The experience of God through art" are courses aimed at teachers, catechists, guides and pastoral agents, with the aim of deepening their understanding of plastic language and recognizing the transcendent message it contains. The masterpiece. Throughout Spain, it is estimated that more than 75,000 people belong to one of these profiles, linked to the Christian formation of boys, girls and young people. Organized by the SM Foundation and by heads of Education and Heritage from the Spanish dioceses, these days are intended to participants live artistic experiences linked to beauty and the transcendent. The workshops and sessions have the objective that the expressions of the religious heritage of the different dioceses of Spain can serve the trainers as a lever to explain and transmit to their students experiences about God, forgiveness, love, redemption, beauty and others. many experiences that are part of the Christian tradition. Hundreds of teachers will participate in these conferences, which will begin on March 24 and 25 in the diocese of Lugo. They will then run through other Spanish regions, such as Castilla y León. Participants will attend various workshops linked to artistic disciplines from the world of cinema, painting, sculpture or music, including a live flute performance by the well-known orchestra director Antonio Yepes. The director and composer will also expose some musical notions linked to theological experiences in the theoretical workshop that he will give.

Place: Lugo Diocesan Seminary Assembly Hall Days: March 24 and 25 Speakers: Ignacio Yepes. Conductor and composer of sacred music José María González. Project Director of the SM Foundation

EDUCATIONAL CONCERT "STABAT MATER DE JOSEPH HAYDN" in the Seminary chapel by the Terra Nova Orchestra. Presented by Revd. D. Abraham Sánchez Pujante, director of the Department of Liturgical Music of the DioceseMore information and registration by clicking here

Works of art within everyone's reach

Throughout the Spanish territory, as of today, there are a total of 22,988 churches, 735 monasteries, 87 cathedrals and 639 sanctuaries that contain works of sacred art, according to the study Catholic Church: parishes, monasteries, cathedrals and sanctuaries in Spain in 2022 .The Statistics on Museums and Museum Collections, belonging to the National Statistical Plan developed by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Defense, National Heritage and Autonomous Cities and Communities, recognizes that about 7.3% of the museums and collections are linked to some Catholic religious institution. "This cultural and artistic wealth existing in the dioceses constitutes a magnificent tool for the experiential transmission of values ​​and experiences. From the SM Foundation we want to help educators to use this heritage in their teaching activity as a vehicle for the transmission of knowledge", assures José María González, director of Projects of the SM Foundation.

About the SM Foundation

The SM Foundation is a non-profit educational institution that works so that, through education and culture, no girl or boy is left behind. We direct all our initiatives to improve equity and educational quality from four areas of intervention: Educational Research, Socio-educational Assistance Projects, Teacher Training and Editorial Innovation Educational Projects. We are backed by more than forty-five years of experience in the development of educational and cultural projects in Spain and Latin America. The SM Foundation allocates the benefits derived from SM's business activity to programs that, through education, seek to contribute to a more inclusive, just, peaceful and sustainable world. The Youth Observatory in Ibero-America is a program of the SM Foundation with more than thirty years of dedication to research on youth, education and culture, which throughout its history has produced dozens of reports to analyze and diagnose the perception of the new generations and their construction of reality.

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