Andrea Bocelli has performed Amazing Grace and Panis Angelicus for Pope Leo XIV, with new footage now available. The Italian tenor sang at the Cantico di Pace, a prayer and music event marking 800 years since the death of St Francis of Assisi, held in Castel Gandolfo.
Event details
The event was organised by the Laudato si Center for Advanced Formation and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. Bocelli has been singing professionally for over 30 years and has performed before the last four Roman Catholic pontiffs, including Pope Leo XIV.
Bocelli's reflections
Bocelli and his wife Veronica reflected on Instagram, quoting: "'Talent is a gift Heaven places in our hands, not to keep for ourselves, but to share with others throughout our lives.'" They noted that children, educators, and choir directors from Haiti, Uganda, the Holy Land, Camerino, and the Rione Sanità in Naples sang the Canticle of Peace for the Pope.
Bocelli added: "The privilege of singing in the presence of the Holy Father remains a source of profound joy, untouched by the years. In Pope Leo XIV, a man of God of exceptional spiritual and intellectual stature, the universal Church has found a steadfast shepherd for a time as troubled as our own."
He also remarked: "That the voices raised before him belonged to young people who have grown up in places where, in some cases, even the word 'peace' is not easily spoken seemed to us a sign of Providence."
In recent days, the Global Gathering also brought them to the Senate of the Republic. They now return home knowing that they belong to a community no border can contain, and our gratitude goes with each and every one of them.
