Renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli will sing for Pope Leo XIV on July 29, 2026, joined by a children’s choir of more than 160 young singers from the Holy Land, Uganda, and Italy. The special performance, organized by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, will take place in the Vatican’s Borgo Laudato Si’ gardens in Castel Gandolfo.The choir members, ages 8 to 19, come from Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the Ugandan village of Nabikabala, and the Italian cities of Naples and Camerino. Together they will perform a musical rendition of St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of Peace” to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.All of the young singers participate in the foundation’s Voices Of program.
The program uses choral singing and educational workshops to support children in communities facing poverty, conflict, or limited access to schooling. It began as a pilot in Haiti in 2016 and has since expanded to Italy, the Holy Land, and Uganda.Due to ongoing instability in Haiti, members of the Haitian choir were unable to travel to Italy. Organizers said their choir directors will represent the Haitian program by describing its work to attendees.
The Castel Gandolfo performance will conclude the first-ever Global Gathering of the Voices Of program. The 10-day gathering, running July 20-29 in Tuscany and Rome, also includes a performance at one of Bocelli’s concerts in Tuscany and a visit to Rome’s Quirinale Palace to sing for Italian President Sergio Mattarella.Beyond rehearsals, participants have taken part in rock climbing, theater, circus arts, photography, and radio workshops designed to build teamwork and cultural exchange.“Every voice carries with it a story, heritage, hope,” Bocelli said in a statement released by the foundation. “When so many voices come together, from afar and from such diverse life experiences, something happens that goes beyond singing: the possibility to recognize one another, to listen to one another, to feel less distant from one another.
”Laura Biancalani, the foundation’s chief executive, said the choir is meant to be a starting point. “Our goal goes beyond music,” she said, noting that organizers hope participants leave with a stronger sense of identity and openness to others that they can bring back to their home communities.This will not be Bocelli’s first performance for Pope Leo XIV. He and his son Matteo sang at the September 2025 inauguration of Borgo Laudato Si’, a center in the papal gardens dedicated to promoting integral ecology and sustainability rooted in Catholic teaching.