Thursday, July 17, 2008

Singing monks excited about meeting Pope

They've made the top 10 in the pop charts in Britain and Germany, but for two young Austrian monks nothing will compare to meeting the Pope in Australia.

Brother John Paul and Brother Edmund, part of the Gregorian chanting group The Monks, will meet the Pope in Sydney on Friday at a special gathering for Austrian pilgrims.

"It is wonderful to meet the Pope," Brother Edmund said.

"In the Pope you have a man whose whole life is representative of God.

"He's a simple, humble man, he doesn't put himself forward at all."

The Monks, who live in the second largest monastery in Europe in the Viennese Alps, won a recording deal after a video of them posted on YouTube caught the attention of Universal.

They beat hundreds of other Gregorian chanters to win the deal.

Their album Chant - Music For Paradise has since become a hit overseas.

Despite being in the spotlight, Brother John Paul, 25, and Brother Edmund, 24, say they don't perform for show, only for prayer.

But they will sing at the gathering with Pope Benedict XVI, who has named their 11th century monastery one of his favourites and made a rare visit there last year.

"I think World Youth Day is wonderful for Australia," Brother John Paul said.

Despite their success, the pair, who are travelling with about 40 teenagers from parishes around Austria, said their lives hadn't changed too much.

"The only thing that has changed is we get our pictures taken more," Edmund said.

"And it helps with a big group of teenagers, they think it's impressive.

"But the rhythm of the monastic life is always the same."

Brother John Paul said he hoped their music inspired people to their way of life.

"We want to share the beauty of our life, we want to share our prayer and share our life with God," he said.
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