The third edition of the concert “with the poor and for the poor,” will be held at the Vatican on November 9, 2019, at 6:00 pm, announced the Holy See. The places of honor in Paul VI Hall will be reserved for “our neediest brothers,” stressed a press release. The intention is to “give them a seed of hope through the universal and thrilling language of musical art.”
As a gesture of supplementary and concrete solidarity, at the end of the concert volunteers with distribute a meal to all the poor present.
The event, organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, with the collaboration of the Nova Opera Association, will open the 3rd World Day of the Poor on the theme: ”The Hope of the Poor Will Never Be Disappointed” (November 17).
Nicola Piovani, recipient of an Oscar, will conduct the orchestra of Italian cinema in Paul VI Hall. The musicians will play excerpts from Roberto Benigni’s films “Life Is Beautiful,” for which he received an Oscar in 1999 in the best film category –, and “Pinocchio.” As with the first two editions, Monsignor Marco Frisina will direct the Choir of the Diocese of Rome. He will direct two suites that gather themes taken from soundtracks of famous telefilms inspired by great figures of Popes and Saints.
Traditionally, the objective of the event is to offer on evening of music, of spiritual reflection and of inclusion to 7,000 persons who wish to attend for free and especially to receive, in the two first spaces of Paul VI Hall, the poorest and the neediest: families in difficulty, elderly persons, the homeless, and persons in situations of fragility and precariousness.
Numerous Associations, which collaborate in the realization of the event, will attend the concert, among others, the Grand Priory of Rome and Rome’s Delegation of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the diocesan Caritas of Rome, Sant’Egidio Community, the Astalli Refugee Center, the Missionaries of Charity and UNITALSI.
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
