An international choir of children and young people from crisis-affected parts of the world will gather with Pope Leo XIV and Andrea Bocelli on July 29 at Borgo Laudato Si’ for a moment of prayer dedicated to peace. Music will serve as a universal language to unite voices across borders. The event, titled “Canticle of Peace,” is promoted by the Laudato Si’ Centre for Higher Education and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. It is part of the celebrations marking 800 years since the death of St. Francis of Assisi. Pope Leo XIV will lead a time of reflection and prayer, petitioning for peace in the world and drawing inspiration from St. Francis’ Canticle of the Creatures.
The choir will be made up of 164 children and young people from the Holy Land, Uganda, Haiti, and Italy. They come from diverse backgrounds often marked by war, poverty, or other challenges. Their voices are meant to show the power of music and art as languages of dialogue, hope, and reconciliation that can be understood around the world.Andrea Bocelli and the ABF Voices Of Choir will accompany the prayer. Through their experience together, the young singers have had the chance to rediscover mutual understanding, a common purpose, and encounter.The gathering with the Pope concludes a 10-day meeting that brought together choristers and educators for the first time in the spirit of a global village.
In a joint press release, Cardinal Fabio Baggio, Director General of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education, said the event shows how Borgo Laudato Si’ remains “a place where faith is translated into concrete gestures of encounter, education, and fraternity.”“In a world marked by growing conflicts and divisions,” the Cardinal noted, bringing these young people together with Pope Leo in a gathering inspired by St. Francis testifies “to the fact that peace is built first and foremost by educating people to encounter, dialogue, and mutual care.”That is the mission of Borgo Laudato Si’: to share a culture of peace to the ends of the earth, based on fraternity, care and respect for creation, and the dignity of each person.
Andrea Bocelli, in the same July 27 press release, described “Canticle of Peace” as stemming from the desire to share a simple and universal message: peace is created through dialogue, meeting, and listening to others. The presence of 164 children and young people from around the globe, each with their own struggles and stories, is an example of this.At the end of the prayer event, each national choir delegation will present the Pope with a handmade gift from their country, showcasing its cultural identity and expressing the group’s gratitude.