By Kielce Gussie
At the annual Italian music festival, Sanremo, the focus shifted from the who’s-who list of musicians and attendees when Pope Francis called the attention to the important role music has in creating world peace.
Music is a language that speaks to all
At the Ariston Theatre, the festival host and artistic director, Carlo Conti, announced that a “surprise” guest would share a message that was not listed on the schedule for the 75th edition of the Sanremo Festival.
Joining in with a recorded video message from Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican, Pope Francis explained how music “is a tool for peace.”
Music, the Pope highlighted, “is a language that all peoples, in different ways, speak, and it reaches the heart of everyone. Music can help the coexistence of peoples.”
Immediately after the papal message, a performance meant to exemplify this was held—Israeli singer Noa and Palestinian singer Mira Awad performed a duet in Hebrew, Arabic, and English to the tune of “Imagine” by John Lennon.
Keeping children at the center
Calling attention to the violence around the world, Pope Francis addressed the reality that there are “many children who cannot sing,” not because they cannot hold a tune but because they “cry and suffer from the many injustices in the world, from the many wars, and situations of conflict.”
“Wars destroy children,” the Pope stressed, and he explained that what he most desires is “to see those who have hated each other shake hands, embrace, and say with life, music, and song: peace is possible!” The Sanremo Festival, Pope Francis said, is an example of this.
The Pope also recalled that he shared the stage with the Sanremo Festival host last year at the Olympic Stadium in Rome for World Children’s Day, where he also dedicated a message to the care for the world’s children. He described the event as a “beautiful moment” that he has kept “in his heart.”
The Pope closed his video message by greeting everyone and expressing his hope that music will “open the heart to harmony, to the joy of being together, with a common language and understanding, making us commit to a more just and fraternal world.” – Vatican News
