20 June 2007 (Salutation)
• Our work in the Vatican Museums never ends. We have thousands of precious works of art in all its wonderful forms. There are always important restorations to undertake. The UK Chapter has also funded a second project, for which we are very grateful: the restoration of a monumental tapestry by Raphael which was originally designed for use in the Sistine Chapel. It is now in our conservation laboratories being restored to its former glory.
• Our Patrons are an essential part of our work in the Vatican. We have twenty chapters in North America and now also in Europe. I am trying to visit as many of them as possible, but I also enjoy the opportunities to welcome the Patron chapters to Rome every year to see the progress of the projects which they are sponsoring. Their participation in this work is important – their enthusiasm and their expertise from different careers and backgrounds enriches our every day experience in the Vatican.
• In closing I would like to thank my hosts, Sir Tom Farmer and the British Chapter of the Patrons, some of whom I have already met in Rome this year and are here this evening. I would like to thank the Royal Academy for their generous hospitality and for the splendid setting in which we have been welcomed. I would also invite those of you who are not yet Patrons to consider membership in this wonderful organisation. You can bring valuable resources to our work: it is also my firm conviction that you will indeed find - at the same time - a not-so-small reward in your cultural and maybe even your spiritual lives. I gladly invite all of the distinguished participants here tonight to visit us in the Vatican, in particular the palace of the Governatorato, headquarters of the government of Vatican City State. I am confident that we will strengthen our mutual knowledge and establish new bonds of friendship.