Andrea Bocelli will sing for Pope Leo XIV on 29 July, accompanied by a choir of more than 160 young people from the Holy Land, Uganda and Italy. The performance, organised by the tenor’s charitable foundation, will take place at Borgo Laudato Si’ in the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo.
The singers, aged between eight and nineteen, come from Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the Ugandan village of Nabikabala, and the Italian cities of Naples and Camerino. Their programme will include a musical setting of Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, marking the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.
All are involved in Voices Of, an Andrea Bocelli Foundation initiative that combines choral singing with educational workshops for children and young people living in communities affected by poverty, conflict or limited access to education. The project was launched in Haiti in 2016 and has since expanded to Italy, the Holy Land and Uganda.
The Haitian singers will not be able to travel to Italy because of the continuing instability in the country, the organisers said. Representatives of the Haitian choir will instead present the work being carried out there as part of the programme.
The Castel Gandolfo performance will bring the first Voices Of Global Gathering to a close. The ten-day event, held in Tuscany and Rome, also includes a visit to one of Bocelli’s concerts and a performance at the Quirinal Palace in the presence of the Italian President, Sergio Mattarella.
“Every voice carries a story, a heritage and a hope,” Bocelli said in a statement released by the foundation. “When so many voices come together from distant places and from such different backgrounds, something happens that goes beyond singing: we are given the chance to recognise one another, to listen to one another and to feel less distant from each other.”
Running from 20 to 29 July, the gathering also features climbing, theatre, circus arts, photography and radio workshops. The activities are intended to strengthen ties within the group and encourage cultural exchange among the participants.
Laura Biancalani, chief executive of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, said the choir should be seen as a beginning rather than an end in itself.
“Our goal goes beyond music,” she said, expressing the hope that the young people would return to their communities with a stronger sense of who they are and a greater willingness to engage with others.
It will not be Bocelli’s first performance for Pope Leo XIV. In September 2025, he and his son Matteo sang at the inauguration of Borgo Laudato Si’, a centre in the papal gardens at Castel Gandolfo dedicated to promoting integral ecology and sustainability in line with Catholic teaching.
