On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation brings together over 160 young voices from vulnerable backgrounds in Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope in the province of Rome.
On July 29, 2026, the Borgo Laudato si’ in Castel Gandolfo became the stage for an event of high symbolic and spiritual value: "Canticle of Peace", a moment of prayer and fraternity arising from the collaboration between the Laudato si’ Higher Education Center and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF). Part of the celebrations for the eighth centenary of the passing of Saint Francis of Assisi, the gathering was led by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, who together with Fr. Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land, employees of the Roman Curia, and hundreds of attendees, raised an invocation for world peace.
Giving shape and voice to this message was Maestro Andrea Bocelli, joined by the 164 children and youth of the ABF Voices choir, who arrived in Italy from Uganda, the Holy Land, Camerino, and the Rione Sanità in Naples (with Haiti present through the testimony of its choir Director). The event represented the culmination of the first edition of the ABF Voices Of Global Gathering, an international ten,day campus held between Tuscany and Rome. An educational and human journey that also saw the young people perform at the Quirinale Palace in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
Among the most touching testimonies brought to the stage in Castel Gandolfo was that of the delegation from the Holy Land. The ABF Voices Jerusalem project embodies the very essence of the educational mission of the Foundation: transforming art into a universal language capable of overcoming barriers and deep wounds. This project is carried out through collaboration with the Magnificat Institute in Jerusalem, the music school of the Custody of the Holy Land.
Launched in September 2023, the program immediately had to face the enormous complexities of the local context. For over two years, the activity was reorganized by dividing the young people into two distinct choirs: one active in Jerusalem and one in Bethlehem. In a territory marked by divisions and tensions, the weekly rehearsals represented much more than a singing lesson for the young choir members: they became an opportunity to experience a safe space and a child,sized dimension of normality.
This long and patient journey of support reached a historic milestone in September 2025, when the two groups from Jerusalem and Bethlehem finally managed to reunite into a single choir on a weekly basis. Seeing these same young people sing together in Castel Gandolfo after the complex path of the past months gave an even deeper meaning to the words spoken during the day.
As Cardinal Fabio Baggio recalled, integral ecology and peace are built "by educating for encounter and dialogue." A vision fully shared by Maestro Andrea Bocelli: "Every voice carries with it a story, a root, a hope. When so many voices meet, coming from distant places and such different life experiences, music does not erase differences, but transforms them into harmony."
At the conclusion of the ceremony, each delegation presented Pope Leo XIV with a handcrafted item from their country before sharing a friendly moment of refreshments. But the value of the Global Gathering and the meeting with the Pontiff goes far beyond the news of the day: for each of these 160 young people, the return home will happen with the awareness of not being alone and of being able to be, through their own voice, active custodians of a future of peace.
Riccardo Curti
Photos by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.
