Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the sixth anniversary of his election as
Pope on May 5, at a concert featuring works of sacred classical music
from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Italy's President Giorgio
Napolitano offered the afternoon concert, featuring the orchestra and
choir of the Opera Theatre of Rome in a performance of Antonio Vivaldi's
“Credo” and Gioachino Rossini's “Stabat Mater.”
Pope Benedict
said the “splendid execution of the two works of art,” conducted by
Jesus Lopez Cobos and Roberto Gabbiani, gave him a “moment of musical
elevation” to mark another year as Pope.
This year, the original
date of the Pope's 2005 election – April 19 – coincided with Holy Week,
forcing the celebration to be pushed back until Easter celebrations and
the beatification of Bl. John Paul II had concluded.
After the
performance, Pope Benedict offered his own reflections on the theme of
Vivaldi's “Credo,” a musical setting of the Nicene Creed by the 18th
century priest and composer.
“'I Believe' and 'Amen' are the
words that begin and end the 'Credo,'” he noted, before going on to
discuss the “much deeper meaning” of the expression of faith.
“Christian
faith doesn't say 'I believe in something' but rather 'I believe in
Someone,' – in God, who has revealed himself in Jesus.”
He observed that the personal language of the Latin verb “credo,” meaning “I believe,” emphasizes that Jesus
reveals not only “the true meaning of the world,” but also the deepest
truth about “the entire person who is on a journey toward him.”
Pope
Benedict, who is himself a classically trained pianist, said that
Vivaldi and Rossini were “great musicians, of whom Italy – which
celebrates 150 years of political unification – should feel proud.”
He asked those in attendance at the concert to remember his “ministry in the vineyard of the Lord” in their personal prayers.