Vatican Splendors and many other richly adorned possessions and religious items used by previous popes in the past. "'This is just a taste of all the wealth of art and its beauty the Vatican owns,' said Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli, one of three curators of the Vatican Museums." The most unusual papal artifact there is the bronze sculpture of John Paul II's hands. It is special because it is the only item people are allowed to touch. The papal display is completed with many portraits and busts of the popes as well as a chronological presentation of all the bishops of Rome beginning
Christianity in the 19th century prayers, initiatives, and the acceptance and support of Marian congregations. Since the 19th century, popes began to use encyclicals more frequently. Thus Leo XIII, the Rosary Pope, issued eleven Marian encyclicals. Recent popes promulgated the veneration of the Blessed Virgin with two dogmas: Pius IX with the Immaculate Conception in 1854, and the Assumption of Mary in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Pius IX, Pius XI, and Pius XII facilitated the veneration of Marian apparitions such as in Lourdes and Fátima. The Second Vatican Council highlighted the importance of Marian veneration in "Lumen gentium". During the Council, Paul VI proclaimed