Rome Kabbalah Symposium offers rare access to the Kabbalistic Manuscripts at the Vatican Library

Rome, Italy — From May 20 to 22, 2025, scholars from Europe, Israel, and the United States will gather in Rome for the Rome Kabbalah Symposium organized by the University of Notre Dame, the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (BAV), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The symposium provides a unique opportunity to study some of the most significant kabbalistic manuscripts in existence within the setting of the Vatican Library itself. The collaboration highlights the enduring legacy of kabbalah—a term meaning “tradition” or “transmission” that is sometimes synonymous with “Jewish mysticism”—within Italy and its intricate historical interactions with Christian theology.

“The Vatican Library holds the greatest wealth of kabbalistic manuscripts in Italy,” said Prof. Jeremy Phillip Brown, Jordan H. Kapson Assistant Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and symposium organizer. “These unique texts open a window onto centuries of Jewish theological inquiry and offer an unparalleled resource for understanding the intersecting intellectual histories of Jews and Christians.”

The manuscripts include early and rare witnesses of foundational works such as the Book of the Zohar—a hagiographic and homiletical anthology of medieval rabbinic piety first printed in northern Italy during the sixteenth century—and the earliest copy of Sefer Yetzirah in Western Europe. They also include texts attributed to figures such as Nahmanides, Moses de León, and Joseph Gikatilla, as well as Latin translations produced by Christian humanists such as Pico della Mirandola and Cardinal Giles of Viterbo. Rome, and particularly the Vatican Library, has long served as a crossroads for the transmission, translation, and transformation of these profound mystical writings.

"The Vatican Library has gladly welcomed the initiative of the University of Notre Dame and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem," comments the Prefect of the Vatican Library, Don Mauro Mantovani, S.D.B., "making the materials of its collections available and hosting the Rome Kabbalah Symposium, which is intended not only as a moment of academic study, but also as a space for dialogue and a common path in research. At a time when shared knowledge is more necessary than ever, this initiative represents a concrete example of cultural synergy."

A Historic Collaboration

This is the first time the Vatican Library is opening its kabbalistic manuscript holdings to an international cohort of specialists in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin paleography for in situ collaborative research.
Currently boasting the world’s top ranked Theology program, University of Notre Dame is a leading North American center for the study of medieval paleography and theology in both the Catholic and Jewish traditions. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem—the premier center for the study of Jewish thought and kabbalah—joins as a key partner, reinforcing the project’s intellectual breadth and depth. A key contributor to the symposium is Prof. Avishai Bar-Asher, who is Chair of Hebrew University’s Department of Jewish Thought and an award-winning researcher in the field of kabbalah studies. Prof. Saverio Campanini from University of Bologna is a decorated scholar of Latin translations and Christian interpretations of kabbalah who will contribute the keynote address. Also from Bologna, Prof. Emma Abate will lecture on the medieval workshops in which scribes composed the first kabbalistic manuscripts in Italy. Abate will also provide an overview of the BAV’s holdings in kabbalah. Prof. James T. Robinson, Dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School, will offer a special research seminar on Vatican’s manuscripts of the writings of the Toledan sage Isaac Ibn Latif.

The symposium includes researchers representing a wide range of disciplines—paleography, codicology, theology, translation studies, reception history, philosophy, and religious studies—and working across multiple languages, including English, Hebrew, Italian, German, and French.

Public Access and Media

While the symposium is closed to the public, members of the media may request interviews with participating scholars and organizers. To arrange interviews, please contact the media contact listed below.

The only public session will be a Keynote Lecture on Thursday, May 22 at 4:00 PM in the Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library:

Kabbalah and the Popes
Speaker: Saverio Campanini, Università di Bologna
Introduction by: Avishai Bar-Asher, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The keynote lecture will survey papal involvement with kabbalah, beginning with Abraham Abulafia’s report of an audience with Nicholas III, and encompassing Sixtus IV program of kabbalistic translations; Innocent VIII's and Adrian VI's aversions to kabbalah and Leo X and Clement VIII endorsements of kabbalah. It will also detail Julius III interest in the Zohar and assesses the judgment of Heinrich Graetz, the nineteenth-century foremost Jewish historian, that kabbalah was the “spoiled child of the papacy.” Major themes of the survey will include messianism, reform, and conversion.

Looking Ahead

The Rome Kabbalah Symposium aims to lay the foundation for a long-term inter-institutional research partnership between the Vatican Library, the University of Notre Dame, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The event will also help to consolidate an international network of scholars dedicated to the study of kabbalistic texts and the cultivation of a new generation of skilled researchers focused on paleography study.

The Vatican Apostolic Library

The Vatican Apostolic Library is one of the oldest and most important libraries in the world. Located within Vatican City, it is a research library that houses a vast collection of manuscripts, books, and other historical documents spanning a wide chronological range.
Its origins date back to the 4th century. However, the formal establishment of the modern Vatican Library as we know it today dates to the 15th century, according to the vision of Popes Nicholas V and Sixtus IV. Over the centuries, successive popes have further enriched and expanded its holdings. The collection of the Vatican Library is incredibly diverse and includes around two millions printed books (including a rich collection of incunabula and valuable ancient material), about 80,000 manuscripts, and 100,000 archival documents, along with maps and drawings, engravings, coins, and medals. The Library is open to scholars, academics, and qualified researchers to support their research needs. To ensure broader access to its collections without geographical limitations, the Library has long undertaken a digitization project and publishes its materials online through the Digital Vatican Library (DVL): https://digi.vatlib.it/).