SACRED MUSIC CONFERENCE, VATICAN CITY 2019

Tuesday 5 November 2019

Portland International Airport 

My flight departed Portland at 12:30pm. Such a blessed relief! When I fly to the East Coast my departure time is usually at 6:00am or other such ghastly hour. Today’s flight on Tuesday gets me to Amsterdam at 9:12am on Wednesday. From there, we travel to Rome at 11:55am. 

I was invited to attend a sacred music conference at the Vatican sponsored by the Pontifical Council of Culture. The theme is “Church, Music, Interpreters” and there will be many choir directors, composers and musicians from around the world, soaking in the wisdom of renowned international speakers. This will be my second visit to Rome and my third encounter with Pope Francis. In 2013, I was in the Eternal City with Father Paul Wicker and friends from Holy Apostles Parish in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where I led a Lenten mission in 2010. We participated in the Pope’s General Audience in St. Peter’s Square with tens of thousands of other pilgrims on a chilly but sunny October morning. It was a thrill to see the Holy Father’s smiling face up close as he drove past us and blessed us from the Popemobile. 

My second encounter with Francis was in Manila when he visited the Philippines in January 2015. My buddy Jesse Manibusan and I were part of the music program in a pre-Papal event at the University of Santo Tomas. It was certainly one of the most exciting gigs that Jesse and I ever did together, and from that experience we hatched the beginnings of our FISH WITH ME album that was 
released by OCP in 2016. Pope Francis was his usual charismatic self, charming  the multitude with his mastery of simple gestures that bring such a personal touch to his Papal Visits. Most memorable was his unannounced visit to a downtown orphanage after the conclusion of a prayer service in the cathedral. 

This conference includes a special Vespers service on Friday evening led by the Sistine Choir in the Sistine Chapel. And on Saturday we conference participants will have a private audience with the Holy Father in the Apostolic Palace.  I suspect these three days will be a highlight of my life and career as a liturgical composer. God is good!