Logo for U.S. Papal visit revealed to the public

Washington D.C., Dec 21, 2007 / 09:32 am

The theme and logo for Pope Benedict XVI’s April visit to the United States were revealed on Wednesday.

The message “Christ our Hope” is placed over a full-color photograph of an open-armed Pope Benedict waving both hands.  The Pope’s image is before a yellow-screened photo of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.  In black type running at the top and over the cupola of the dome are three lines of type reading “Pope Benedict XVI/Christ Our Hope/Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008.”

The theme reflects that of the Pope’s recent encyclical “Spe Salvi”, which examined Christians’ hope in eternal salvation as a product of faith in Christ.

Donna Hobson, director of publications at the Catholic University of America (CUA), designed the logo.  She explained the creative decisions that went into its production.

“I wanted to incorporate the papal colors—yellow and white— and my vision was to show a welcoming, arms-open, smiling Pope Benedict,” she said.

Father David O’Connell, C.M., CUA president, said he was “pleased to volunteer the services of our university’s excellent publications office to design the logo.”

He also reported the university was looking forward to the papal visit, saying “Our CUA community is eagerly awaiting the pontiff’s visit to the United States, and especially to our campus, and we want to contribute to its success in every possible way.”