At Vatican peace concert, Pope Leo XIV tells children music can overcome division

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV attended a prayer meeting and concert for peace on Wednesday (July 29), where he listened to an interfaith choir of 164 children at the lush gardens of the Vatican’s echo-village in the town of Castel Gandolfo.

Some of the children were from Israel or Palestine, while others were born in Italy or Uganda. They were accompanied by the famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who has sung at several Vatican events before. The event took place at the Borgo Laudato Sì, formally the papal gardens of the pope’s summer residence, which Pope Francis had transformed into a living example of the church’s teachings on care for creation and environmental sustainability.

The “Canticle for Peace” took place on the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century Italian friar and mystic who advocated voluntary poverty and care for creation.

The choir sang songs centered on the theme of peace, such as the “Moon in Kiev,” written by Italian poet Gianni Rodari, and “Amazing Grace.”

Leo reflected after the concert on the unifying power of music, describing the choir as “an ideal symbol of harmony and cooperation.” The pope told the…