Working and living in and around Rome and the Vatican for 20 years. Met the last four popes. Recently on ABC, BBC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FoxNews, NewsMax, NewsNation.
Roma, Lazio
Joined March 2008
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The Sistine Chapel was completely closed to the public today for the historic prayer service with Pope Leo and King Charles. My group, however, was able to visit. We also got a little peek at the Room of Tears and Sala Regia.
Our American pope going to Turkey on Thanksgiving. Well played @Pontifex. 👏👏👏
How exactly does one get a giant block of ice from Greenland to Italy for a climate change photo op? Can something like this be checked on a commercial flight? Maybe a refrigerated container on a ship and then a truck?
Odd you call it a “hip hop” concert when it was two hours of praising God through multiple sets by Andrea Bocelli singing in Latin, a full TEN minutes of the Choir of the Diocese of Rome (directed by a Monsignor), an amazing Gospel Choir who performed throughout the night, and a few other artists who played various genres that ALL praised God, with the one exception being Pharrell’s “Happy” which tied together the theme of joy.
But the THREE minutes of hip hop, accompanied by the choirs and an orchestra, which was quite tasteful and moving, make it a “hip hop” concert. 🙄 Aren’t you a journalist?
Anything to try and stir up division I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, a brief (literally 45 second) tribute to the successor of Saint Peter who died this year AND who started the foundation hosting this event is so awful. 🙄
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Lots of opinions about the Vatican concert tonight. Mostly from people who were not there or didn’t watch.
I was there and here’s my take…
Two hours of praising God, talking about Jesus, acknowledging the sacred space they were in, and thanking the pope.
A cardinal spoke. A priest spoke. A Monsignor directed the Choir for the Diocese of Rome in some beautiful sacred music.
Because many of the artists are huge, there was an audience of millions.
Nothing “inappropriate” was said or done. Outfits were all modest. Language was clean. Nearly all songs were centered on Christ or at least a positive message, like “Happy.” There were no politics. There were no controversial takes or promoting agendas.
Ave Maria sung in Latin and images of Jesus and Mary were shown in the air via drones.
All this with a backdrop of Saint Peter’s basilica with occasional glimpses of statues of Christ and the Saints.
Two solid hours of praising God by traditionally secular artists.
Many had issue with Karol G… she sung about God helping her heal and needing His support.
Clipse (Pusha T and Malice)… sang about grief and needing faith to get through the loss of their parents.
I didn’t care for all the artists who performed or what they represent. But everyone was very respectful and overall it was a beautiful night and well done. Solid evangelization to millions of people.
Happy… at the Vatican.
Sound check for tomorrow night's concert in Saint Peter's Square. Produced by @pharrell and @andreabocelliofficial and accompanied by 3,000+ drones recreating the Sistine Chapel. Should be an interesting evening.
Maybe this has happened before, but I can’t recall any of the previous popes *walking* the Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession from Saint John Lateran to Santa Maria Maggiore. It’s really beautiful to see. It’s only about a mile, but it’s currently around 90° F / 31° C, and Pope Leo is carrying the monstrance. It would be perfectly acceptable to use one of the modified vehicles popes previously used in the past. This really made it hit me that the last time we had a pope in his 60s was in 1989 🩵
Video Vatican Media
I’m enjoying watching Pope Leo learn how to do pope-y things, like how he handles himself at the audience.
