Timothy Smyth of South Boston, one of the 38 members of the Boston College High School Chamber and Concert Choirs, led by Choir Director Dr. Marina Rozenberg of Hingham, recently returned from a concert tour in Italy.
The trip started with a tour of the city of ancient Rome, where the group visited the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. They gave their first formal performance at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, offering their voices in song and prayer, participating in mass spoken in Italian.
The following day, the boys toured the Saint Callixtus Catacombs, a 13-mile, 4 level cemetery, buried in volcanic rock beneath the Roman countryside. After lunch, the group toured the beautiful Jesuit Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, where both Saint Ignatius and Saint Aloysius are buried. The choir sang during mass and then continued with a few extra songs at the priest’s request.
On the third day, the choir visited Istituto Massimo Jesuit School and participated in a Friendship Concert. Both choirs performed some of their favorite songs and then shared the stage for a few tunes familiar to both choirs: Hallelujah and Do, Re, Mi. Following lunch at the school, the choir travelled back to the city for a tour of the Galleria Borghese where they saw the statues and paintings of Gina Lorenzo Bernini, Tiziano, Raffaello and Caravaggio.
On the last day, the Choir rose early and returned to Saint Peter’s Square for an audience with Pope Francis. After staking claim to a section along the barricades, the boys experienced the wonder of the pope’s presence, cheering “Papa” as he passed by and collecting precious pictures to remember the day. A freshman remarked: “The papal audience was truly astounding. It is a sight that I will never forget. To see the leader of the church of over a billion people, is something that not many people can say they have seen. He is one of the most holy people on the planet and looking at him is like looking at a glimmer of God.”
After listening to the pope speak, the choir spent some free time eating lunch along the river and shopping for souvenirs. The day ended with a tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica. The overall experience traveling as a group united in song and prayer is what these students will remember most.
