VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV asked Canadian singer Michael Bublé and other artists to do their very best when performing a Christmas concert for the poor.
The annual concert at the Vatican “is not merely a performance by talented artists or simply a musical event, beautiful as it may be, nor even a moment of solidarity to ease our conscience in the face of society’s injustices,” the pope told Bublé and the other artists Dec. 5.
“I would like us, as we participate in this gathering, to recall the Lord’s words: ‘Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,'” the pope said.
Some 3,000 people assisted by the Vatican’s charity office, the Rome diocesan Caritas and other Catholic charities in Rome will be the primary guests at the concert Dec. 6 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall. It will be livestreamed by Vatican Media.
The concert for the poor began as the initiative of Pope Francis in 2015, although he did not attend any of the performances. However, the Vatican said, Pope Leo will be present for the 2025 edition.
“If we concretely love those who are hungry and thirsty, those without clothing, the sick, the stranger, the prisoner, we are loving the Lord,” Pope Leo told the artists, including members of the choir of the Diocese of Rome and the Nova Opera Orchestra.
“This is the Gospel,” Pope Leo said, quoting from his exhortation on love for the poor: ” This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.”
“The dignity of men and women is not measured by what they possess,” the pope insisted. “We are not our goods and belongings, but rather children loved by God; and this same love must be the measure of our actions toward our neighbor.”
“For this reason, in our concert, the most vulnerable brothers and sisters occupy the first places,” he said.
Msgr. Marco Frisina, director of the choir of the Diocese of Rome, said Pope Francis came up with the idea of the concert for the poor to give them “something they are never given — something beautiful” and exclusive.
Bublé, who spoke to reporters after meeting the pope, said he was “overwhelmed” and “I’m really still not over the moment.”
A Catholic, the singer said he was able to bring his wife and parents to the papal audience.
“For this young kid from Burnaby (British Columbia), who grew up Catholic, to be sitting here now, it’s almost impossible to really express to you how it feels,” he said.
Bublé told reporters his set list for the concert includes several songs requested by Pope Leo, starting with the Ave Maria in Latin.
“To be really honest,” he told reporters, “I sang that song once — one time in a recording studio with all of the strings and the orchestra, and I never sang the song again. And when he asked, I was very, very nervous. I didn’t want to let him or any of you down, but with the amazing group behind me, with the choir and this orchestra, I realized that there’s no fear, there’s only joy and rehearsal.”
Asked about his faith, Bublé told reporters, “I have a wonderful personal relationship with God. And it doesn’t just affect my music. It affects everything, everything I do, every decision I make.”
“If my brand is anything,” he said, “I very much hope that it’s kindness and hope and love.”
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