Cathedral Choir sings in St. Peter's Basilica

Friday, Jan. 13, 2023

Courtesy of The Madeleine Choir School

ROME — The Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, featuring the Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School, sang at the Papal Mass with Pope Francis to celebrate the Epiphany on Jan. 6, together with the Sistine Chapel Choir. 

The choral ambassadors from Utah were invited by the staff of the Cappella Sistina to join the celebration of the 10 a.m. Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Madeleine Choir School is a Catholic school in Salt Lake City serving students in grades pre-K3 through eighth, offering not only a music curriculum but also instruction in the humanities, mathematics and the sciences, as well as foreign languages, visual arts, theology and athletics. Students in fifth through eighth grades have the opportunity to embark on international and domestic tours on alternating academic years, with tours in Italy every fourth year. They also regularly collaborate with the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera and other regional arts organizations, including recent performances at the Grand Teton Music Festival.

“When we take our students to other parts of the world, whether it be internationally or domestically, it is not only an opportunity for the student choristers to showcase their talents, but also to expand their minds by engaging with other cultures,” said Gregory Glenn, MCS’s pastoral administrator. “The experience to see these historic cities and sites important to the life of our Catholic community cannot be replicated in a classroom. This is an opportunity for the children from each group to gain new perspectives on the history of our Catholic faith, their personal faith, and our place in the global community.”

The choir’s voyage began on Dec. 30, a few days after they performed their traditional Christmas-season concerts and services at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, which have been standing-room-only for the last quarter century. These events, offered annually, include the Christmas Carol Services, Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, and several Masses leading up to and including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations.

In a letter of support celebrating The Madeleine Choir School’s ambassadorship, Governor Spencer Cox said, “This is an opportunity to become familiar with other cultures and to share your talents throughout the world.”

The choir’s international tour began in Milan and included stops in Florence and Assisi, where the choirs assisted with Masses and performed concerts in such venues as the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence and the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. At their final destination, Rome, they celebrated Mass in all four of Rome’s archbasilicas: St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls and St. Peter’s Basilica, where the Holy Father presided at the Mass.

“To collaborate with the Sistine Chapel Choir and have the opportunity to be in the presence of Pope Francis is the apex of our choral pilgrimage and performance tour of Italy that occurs every four years for students at the Choir School,” said Melanie Malinka, MCS’ director of music. “Our students gain an enormous life experience from our choral tours, and we continue to hear from our alumni of the enormous impact these experiences have had in shaping who they’ve become and the pathways they’ve chosen because their eyes are opened to the world.”