CNA Staff, Apr 11, 2020 / 01:50 pm (CNA).- Famed Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli will livestream on Easter Sunday a solo concert from the Santa Maria Nascente Cathedral in Milan. The performer says he aims to send a message of hope, love, and healing to the world amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
“I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now,” Bocelli said in a statement about the concert.
“Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will embrace the wounded planet’s pulsing heart” Bocelli said, “on the day in which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs.
The singer, a practicing Catholic who has sold more than 90 million albums around the world, was invited to perform the concert by the city of Milan and cathedral administrators. The cathedral will be nearly empty during Bocelli’s performance. The Milan church is the largest in Italy; St. Peter’s Basilica, which is larger, is in the Vatican City State.
Bocelli is expected to perform a collection of religious pieces, in a performance he said will be “an occasion to pray together through music.”
The Andrea Bocelli Foundation has in recent weeks raised money to support hospitals treating coronavirus patients. The performance will take place at 9 p.m. in Milan, 1 p.m on the east coast of the U.S.
“It will be a joy to witness it, in the Duomo, during the Easter celebration which evokes the mystery of birth and rebirth,” Bocelli said of the concert.
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Vatican City, Nov 15, 2020 / 06:20 am (CNA).- Jesus is telling us today to stretch out our hand to the poor, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address Sunday.
Speaking from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square Nov. 15, the fourth World Da… […]
An image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria. / Diana Ringo via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 at).
Vatican City, Mar 25, 2022 / 09:55 am (CNA).
11:04 a.m. Pope Francis goes to confession, then hears confessions
Pope Francis prays during the penitential service. Vatican Pool.
After Pope Francis preached his homily, there was a moment of total silence in the basilica. Following the recitation of the Confiteor, the prayer beginning “I confess to almighty God…”, the pope walked across the basilica to the area with the confessionals. There, he made his confession while standing. He then walked over to a confessional and began to hear confessions himself.
10:54 a.m. An act followed in Russia and Ukraine
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, Russia. Maxim Apryatin via Shutterstock.
Catholics in the Russian capital Moscow are gathering today to pray and follow the live feed of the act of consecration. They are meeting at Immaculate Conception Cathedral, a building with a turbulent history.
Ukrainian Catholics will also be praying the act of consecration, which has been shared on the website of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, based in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, has tweeted this:
PopeFrancis leading Mass with rank of dedication🇺🇦&🇷🇺 to ImmaculateHeart of VirginMary according to Revelation in Fatima in 1917, when She asked to consecrate🇷🇺 in intention to convert it&prevent from doing bad things. So today’s rank is another attempt🇻🇦defend🇺🇦from devil’s🇷🇺war pic.twitter.com/sO32IhB1k2
Some commentators have raised questions about a phrase found in some non-English versions of the text. The phrase, “Earth of Heaven,” is present in the Spanish text (“tierra del Cielo”) and the Italian translation (“terra del Cielo”).
The Vatican has issued an explanation of the phrase. You can find it here.
10:24 a.m. The statue of Mary inside St. Peter’s Basilica
The statue of the Virgin Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican Pool.
Pope Francis is expected to stand before this statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as he reads the act of consecration. The act is available on the Vatican website in an impressive 36 languages, including Ukrainian and Russian. The pope is expected to make the act of consecration in Italian.
10:14 a.m. A guide to the penitential service
The booklet for the penitential service and act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Here is the booklet for the penitential service and act of consecration given to members of the congregation inside St. Peter’s Basilica. You can see the contents here.
10:12 a.m. How to watch live
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle arrives for the penitential service and act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.
If you’d like to watch the consecration live, we encourage you to tune in via EWTN.
The pope is expected to recite the act of consecration at around 6:30 p.m. local time.
When is 6:30 p.m. Rome time for you? There’s a handy cheat sheet here.
10:08 a.m. Inside the basilica
Inside St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the consecration of Ukraine and Russia. Courtney Mares/CNA.
This was the scene inside the basilica ahead of the penitential service and act of consecration.
Here are the preparations, as seen by our reporters at the basilica:
St. Peter’s Basilica is preparing for the penance service and consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate 🤍 of Mary. pic.twitter.com/HPu3roaESi
The crowd in St Peter’s Basilica is waiting in eager anticipation of Pope Francis’ consecration of the world, especially Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Conception of Mary. pic.twitter.com/iqcGzPsFSN
People gather in St Peter’s Square ahead of the consecration of Ukraine and Russia. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Welcome to CNA’s live coverage of the momentous global act of consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our reporters are inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where a penitential service will begin shortly, followed by the consecration.
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I, among them – says the Lord.