SBS Students Perform for Pope Francis

About 50 students from Saint Bernard School’s choir and band recently returned from a week-long trip to Rome, Italy, where they got to perform for Pope Francis. A few lucky Saints even got to shake the hand of the Holy Father.

“It was a fantastic experience to perform there in one of the holiest places in the world,” said senior Ben Ellery. “We got to showcase Saint Bernard School not only to the other choirs, but also to the world.”

The SBS music groups, comprised of students in grades 8 to 12, performed in the 2nd Annual Youth and Young Adult Choir Festival for the Epiphany 2017. The group landed in Rome on New Year’s Day and spent the week performing and visiting tourist attractions, including the Vatican museums and Colosseum.

Saint Bernard School students performed for the pope at the Mass for Epiphany at St. Peter’s Basilica, which was celebrated by His Holiness. All choirs performing in the festival sang alongside the Sistine Chapel Choir.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said senior Michael Guth.

The SBS choir and band gave additional performances at the basilicas of St. Peter, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius, and in St. Peter’s Square.

“It was a very cool experience to see all of these difference places we learned about here (at SBS) in theology like the four major basilicas. It really helped us to make the mental connection to the places Mr. Leone talked about in class,” said sophomore Claire McCarthy.

She said performing in the presence of the pope was amazing, as were the acoustics in the basilicas. “We’d stop singing and the sounds continued to ring in the room,” Claire said.

While attending the Papal audience where the pope was greeting the pilgrims and blessing religious articles, SBS freshman Amber Caldwell was one of the lucky few who got to shake the pope’s hand as he blessed her rosary.

“I couldn’t believe it – I just got to shake the pope’s hand! I know it meant a lot to my grandmother because she is the one who really raised my sister and me to be involved in the Catholic Church,” said Amber. “I know it meant a lot to her, so it also meant a lot to me.”

Under the direction of Ms. Caitlin Meyer, the groups have had the honor of performing in many prestigious locations – including Saint Malachy’s Chapel and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City for Pueri Cantores, in Orlando at Disney World, and aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid.

Ms. Meyer said the Saints were invited to perform at the Epiphany Mass after last year’s performance at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The Rome trip allowed the students to share their talents and faith on an even larger scale, she said.

“I get to see their hard work and dedication every day - going to Rome was an experience for them to share their amazing talent with the world, and I could not be more proud as a music director,” Ms. Meyer said.