Pope Leo XIV at Andrea Bocelli Concert with Children's Choir for Peace says in Listening to Music as an "experience of beauty" - "We encounter God" FULL TEXT

Pope Leo XIV joined the prayer gathering 'Canticle of Peace' at Borgo Laudato si', in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, together with Andrea Bocelli and the ABF Voices choir, made up of children's voices from Uganda, the Holy Land and Italy. The Canticle of Peace gathering, held this evening, 29 July, at Borgo Laudato si' in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, beneath the shade of the ancient holm oak known as "Methuselah."
Organized by the Laudato si' Higher Education Center in partnership with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, represented by the renowned tenor himself, the event forms part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi.

The readings included passages from St Francis's writings, such as the Canticle of the Creatures, alongside biblical texts and words from several Popes—from St Paul VI and St John Paul II to Pope Francis.

The Pope described the gathering as an occasion of "joy," accompanied by Andrea Bocelli and the ABF Voices choir, made up of 164 children and young people from the Holy Land, Uganda and Italy. United by their love of music, many of them also share lives marked by war, poverty and suffering.

The first section of the program concentrated on Creation and featured performances of Panis Angelicus and Dolce sentire by Andrea Bocelli and the choir. Sister Alessandra Smerilli then read an excerpt from St Francis's Canticle of the Creatures, followed by Cardinal Baggio's proclamation in English of verses from the opening chapter of Genesis.

The second part, dedicated to harmony among peoples, included a musical setting by the choir of Gianni Rodari's poem The Moon of Kyiv, followed by a prayer attributed to the Poor Man of Assisi, read by Fr Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land.

The third section highlighted human dignity. It featured the choir's performance of Singing All Together, together with readings from Pope Francis's encyclical Fratelli tutti, St Paul VI's address to the United Nations on 4 October 1965, and St John Paul II's speech to the International Court of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague on 13 May 1985.

The fourth and final section, devoted to faith and unity, included a performance of Gaelic Blessing and a reading from Chapter 20 of the Gospel according to John.

FULL TEXT GREETING OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
TO THE ANDREA BOCELLI FOUNDATION
WITH CHILDREN'S CHOIRS FROM UGANDA, THE HOLY LAND AND ITALY

Borgo Laudato sì – Piazzale del Padiglione del Riposo (Castel Gandolfo)
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
________________________________________

Dear friends, my dear young people from Uganda, the Holy Land and Italy,

Welcome! I am very happy that you have come to join us today. It is a joy to share these moments with you. I thank all the choir members for your hard work in preparing this recital, and I congratulate the choir directors.

We have just listened to your beautiful singing. Music has the remarkable ability to bring different voices together in unison, where each one contributes something unique to the whole. In this sense, choir becomes an ideal symbol of harmony and cooperation.

It is significant that Sacred Scripture and the Liturgy of the Church speak of “choirs of angels and saints” when describing the joy of heaven, not because they are literally singing all the time, but because united in love they behold God together and find in him the fullness of happiness.

My dear young friends, as you were singing, did you notice how music drew all of us into an experience of something new, something that was greater than any one of us alone could create? This is the experience of beauty. It opens before us a new horizon, and it awakens within us the desire to go out to meet that horizon. When we set out toward it, we discover not simply something, but Someone. We encounter God our Creator. Just as we can follow a stream back to its source, the beauty of music invites us to encounter the one who is beauty itself.

In this regard, continue to cultivate the gifts that God has given you, and allow them to lead you towards him. He is everything we are looking for in life, the one who alone can quell our restless hearts. Remember that you have been made for great things, and that this world is not enough to quench your thirst for meaning and happiness.

Know too that the Holy Father loves you and prays for you, for your families and for your countries. In a particular way, I pray that peace may reign in your homes and in all those places throughout the world that continue to suffer from violence.

In closing, I would like to thank the Andrea Bocelli Foundation for the work you carry out on behalf of young people who experience educational and social disadvantages. Through the power of music, you are contributing to the Church’s mission of promoting the integral development of every human person and serving the common good. May God bless your efforts.

Dear friends, thank you again for coming to lift our hearts with your beautiful music. Entrusting you to the intercession of Mary our Mother, I will gladly impart to each of you my heartfelt blessing.

Thank you.

The children's prayer - 
After the Pope's reflection, the children recited a prayer in several languages:

“Father, we are children. We ask only to be able to play. That is why You created for us a beautiful garden where we could live happily, surrounded by Your love and in harmony with every creature whom St Francis taught us to call brother and sister. We have failed to care for the garden, and the joy of living in it has turned into fear of You, so we hid ourselves. But Your love found us, just as in a game of hide-and-seek. Through Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, You reconciled us to Yourself, restored communion with You, with one another and with all creation. We ask You to help us care for the garden so that we may live in true happiness.”

The gathering concluded with the Lord's Prayer, the exchange of the sign of peace and the Apostolic Blessing. Andrea Bocelli and the choir then performed Amazing Grace, before presenting Pope Leo XIV with gifts prepared by the children from their respective homelands.

Sources - https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-07/pope-music-leads-us-to-god-concert-castel-gandolfo-choir.html https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/07/29/0606/01032.html