Pope Leo XIV stated Wednesday that “the beauty of music invites us to encounter the One who is beauty itself,” during the “Canticle of Peace” prayer and fraternal gathering held at Castel Gandolfo’s Borgo Laudato Si’ gardens.
Leo XIV also prayed for peace to reign “in all those places in the world that continue to suffer from violence
The gathering, organized by the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF), took place as part of the celebrations marking the eighth centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
Addressing the young members of the ABF Voices choir who came from Uganda, the Holy Land, and Italy, Leo XIV assured them: “Know also that the Holy Father loves you and prays for you, for your families, and for your countries.”
After listening to the performance by tenor Andrea Bocelli and the choir, the pope thanked them for the effort put into preparing the recital and congratulated their conductors, noting that “music has the extraordinary capacity to bring different voices together in unison, where each contributes something unique to the whole.”
“In this sense, the choir becomes an ideal symbol of harmony and cooperation,” he added.
In his message, Leo XIV noted the significance of the fact that Sacred Scripture and the Church’s liturgy speak of “choirs of angels and saints” when describing the joy of heaven.
This does not mean, he explained, that they are “literally singing all the time,” but rather that, “united in love, they contemplate God together and find the fullness of happiness in him.”
The Holy Father then invited the young people to reflect on what had taken place during their performance: “As you sang, did you notice how music drew all of us into a new experience — something greater than anything any one of us could have created alone?”
“This is the experience of beauty. It opens up a new horizon before us and awakens within us the desire to move towards it,” he continued.
The pope explained that “when we journey toward that horizon, we do not simply discover something, but Someone. We encounter God, our Creator.”
Leo XIV encouraged the young people to continue cultivating the gifts God has bestowed upon them and to allow those talents to lead them to him, for “He is all we seek in life, the only one who can calm our restless hearts.”
The pontiff also reminded them that “you were made for great things and that the whole world is not enough to satisfy your thirst for meaning and happiness.”
Before concluding, Leo XIV thanked the Andrea Bocelli Foundation for its work on behalf of young people facing educational and social disadvantages, and highlighted that “through the power of music, you are contributing to the Church’s mission of promoting the integral development of every human person in service of the common good. May God bless your efforts.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.