Mining Maritain’s Philosophy of Beauty for a Theology of Liturgical Art

The relationship between beauty and liturgy has been shaped by the work of theologians such as Hans Urs von Balthasar, who sought to restore beauty to a central role in the Church. According to an analysis by Adoremus, Balthasar worked to reconnect aesthetics with metaphysics and ethics after modern philosophers like Kant and Nietzsche separated these concepts.

Pope Benedict XVI contributed to this theological development by using the term via pulchritudinis and drawing an analogy between liturgy and art. He also employed the term ars celebrandi, a phrase used by Pope John Paul II, to describe the art of celebrating the liturgy. Pope Francis previously called for liturgical reflection using similar terms before his election to the papacy.