The entrance to the new show at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. The show called “Vatican Splendors, a Journey Through Art” will open Sunday and run through August 28th. The exhibit features artifacts and artwork from the Vatican. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles News Group)

SIMI VALLEY >> Two men cradled a bust of St. John Paul the Great, then gently faced him toward familiar splendors of the Vatican.
When the bronze Pope John Paul II had been firmly planted Tuesday at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, he stared directly into the marble eyes of Blessed Pius IX. They’ll both be featured in “Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art,” which opens Sunday.
“He wanted people away from Rome to be able to experience this art,” said Monsignor Luis Manuel Cuna Ramos, an exhibition lender from Vatican City, of the late pontiff whose bust by the late Italian artist and sculptor Enrico Manfrini cast an unearthly glow in the exhibit. “It’s not only about art, but an example of faith.”
• PHOTOS: Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art at the Reagan Library
The exhibit, which runs through Aug. 28, for the first time allows people in the western U.S. a glimpse of the one of the largest Vatican collection ever to tour the U.S.
The 10,000-square-foot exhibition includes more than 200 objects, from a reliquary alleged to contain bone fragments of Saints Peter and Paul, to works of art by Guercino, Bernino and Michelangelo.
It traces the the evolution of the church and its papacy from Saint Peter through the current Pope Francis, with special emphasis on art and historical objects reflecting significant events and periods relating to Christianity.
Visitors may feel transported to the Vatican, from the underground catacombs said to have contained the discovered remains of St. Peter to the ornate papal chambers above, giving an insider’s view of the heart of Catholic Rome.
“Vatican Splendors,” with objects on loan from the Vatican, includes ancient objects, including a nearly 2,000-year-old brick from St. Paul’s tomb. It also features mosaics, frescoes and paintings by Renaissance masters to precious objects from the Papal Mass to uniforms of the Papal Swiss Guard.
“The potential to educate and spread the good news of the Catholic Church and faith through the educational content of this exhibition is unprecedented,” Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said in a statement. “To have this exhibit in the Los Angeles area is an honor.”
• VIDEO: Monsignor Luis Manuel Cuna Ramos talks about the exhibit
The exhibit debuted in Philadelphia, where visitors wept upon touching the cast hands of John Paul II,
To accommodate “Vatican Splendors,” the presidential library will temporarily boost library ticket prices. Adults, who now pay $16, for example, will pay $29. For information, call 800-410-8354, or go to www.reaganlibrary.com/vaticansplendors.
The library has a history of hosting traveling exhibits, on subjects from Abraham Lincoln to Walt Disney, in order to draw new visitors.
“This has a specific tie to Ronald Reagan, in that Ronald Reagan believed so strongly in faith,” said Melissa Giller, vice president of marketing for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, of “Vatican Splendors. “Also, Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II had a high admiration for one another, and along with Margaret Thatcher, brought an end to the Cold War.”
First Lady Nancy Reagan, widow of the 40th President, said her husband had a great affinity for the Catholic Church — establishing the first U.S. diplomatic ties to the Vatican — and would have been honored to have his library display Vatican treasures.
“He established a unique and very special friendship with Saint John Paul II,” she said. “Remarkably, they shared similar personal backgrounds and together, they worked very hard — mostly in secret — to free the people of Poland and other captive nations from communist rule.”