III INTERNATIONAL MEETING
OF CHOIRS IN THE VATICAN

The choirs meet Pope Francis

on the Feast Day of St. Cecilia

23-25 November 2018

After the first Conference in 2014 and the Jubilee for Choirs in 2016, which gathered more than 8,000 people together, choir singers, musicians and choir directors from all over the world will meet again from the 23^th to the 25^th of November 2018 for the III International Meeting of Choirs on the occasion of the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, Patroness of Music and Musicians.

Organized by the association Nova Opera Onlus, in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, the event will take place entirely in Vatican City: Friday 23 and Saturday 24 in the Paul VI Audience Hall; Sunday 25 at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Conference

Paul VI Audience Hall

The International Meeting will start on Friday, November 23, with the presence of great experts on sacred and liturgical music from all around the world. Conferences and testimonies from different contexts, in addition to practices and rehearsals that will actively involve all the participants are to be expected.

Mons. Marco Frisina, director of the Choir of the Diocese of Rome, will moderate the conferences and the panel discussions, which will focus on the topic: “Music in the Liturgy and in the Catechesis for the New Evangelization”.

*All the interventions will be in Italian with simultaneous translation in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German based on linguistic presences.

Special Audience

Paul VI Audience Hall

The Meeting continues on Saturday morning with a conference given by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, followed by a special Audience with Pope Francis: for the first time, the Holy Father will meet the choirs and give them his Paternal Blessing.

It will be a unique moment, dedicated to the world of sacred and liturgical music; a sign of the great affection that the Pope has for all of those engaged in living and communicating the beauty of the Christian faith.

Concert

Paul VI Audience Hall

On Saturday afternoon, still in the Paul VI Audience Hall, there will be a great Concert: all the choir singers, united with the Choir of the Diocese of Rome and a special Symphonic Orchestra directed by Mons. Marco Frisina,

will perform the most representative songs of the sacred and liturgical tradition, forming together a huge and unique Polyphonic Choir. The “Choirs’ Concert” will be dedicated to St. Cecilia.

Holy Mass

St. Peter’s Basilica

The Meeting will close on Sunday with the Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella. All choir singers will animate the hymns.

At the end of the celebration, it will be possible to attend the Angelus Prayer with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square.