Concert in Honor of Spiritual Directors of Young Pilgrims
VATICAN CITY, AUGUST 18 (ZENIT.org).- Spanish tenor José Carreras sang in the Opera Theater yesterday for young people participating in World Youth Day. The theater, with a capacity for 1,700, was full. The "ad honorem" concert was dedicated to bishops, priests, and spiritual directors accompanying youths from around the world in their meeting with the Pope.
Twenty Cardinals and 300 bishops attended the concert. Soprano Hong Mei, a convert to Catholicism who has sung in the Vatican on previous occasions, sang Schubert's "Ave Maria" with Carreras.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, introduced the concert. He described the "moving spectacle being offered by youths who fill the streets of Rome."
The performance of the "High Spirit" Chicago group was especially stirring. They sang the best-known Gospel songs and Spirituals, including "We Shall Overcome," "Amazing Grace," and "Sweet Chariot."
The finishing touch came when all the artists performed together, which ended with a 5-minute applause.
In statements to the press today, José Carreras said: "I am delighted to participate in World Youth Day. The hundreds of thousands of youths walking around Rome are an extraordinary positive sign of civilization."
Zenit - The World Seen From Rome