Vatican makes history: Bishop Tighe tells all

'There was immediately a very warm response to the initiative.'

Though he was known for his crass language and sexual plays, William Shakespeare is also recognized as one of the greatest playwrights of all time - and now he's coming to the Vatican.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Globe Theatre's troupe will be traveling the world in celebration of William Shakespeare's 450th birthday in a tour titled "Globe to Globe."

The goal of the tour is to perform Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" in every country in the world, from the largest (Russia) to the smallest - The Vatican.

According to Vatican Radio, a Shakespearean play will be performed at the Vatican for the first time in history.

The British Embassy arranged the performance with the Holy See and Pontifical Council for Culture.

Bishop Paul Tighe, the Adjunct Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture said: "They approached the Holy See about the possibility of finding a venue, and the possibility of putting on Hamlet. There was immediately a very warm response to the initiative."

"Hamlet" will be performed in the extraterritorial Palazzo della Cancelleria.

Bishop Tighe spoke Vatican Radio and explained, "I think it is fair to say that Shakespeare is one of the classics. He is one of the people who has helped to form global culture. His work is recognized as something that raises the real questions about what does it mean to be human, about the potential of human beings to achieve greatness, at the same time the tragedy of when human life goes badly.

"He opens up extraordinary universal themes, and I think in opening up those themes, even for people who mightn't be explicitly religious, or mightn't even be open to religious ideas, they are inevitably obliged to confront larger questions about the meaning and purpose of life.

"I think I would say it's not so much what he gives to religious culture, as he asks the right questions and provokes and stimulates the right sort of questions, that then allow people to go that little bit deeper, which is where probably we can begin to talk about religion and views of transcendence. ... I think he was profoundly Christian. His worldview was shaped by his Christian beliefs."

Despite Bishop Tighe's commentary on the merits of Shakespeare, the man behind the plays was not the most religious and pious man. In fact, Shakespeare was a forward-thinking liberal who often shocked his audience with sexual escapades and rude language.

A performance of William Shakespeare's play is indeed a historic event for the Vatican - even if not all members of the clergy fully understand why.

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