A GREAT DAY FOR SACRED MUSIC

Dear Friends,

Sacred music shone brightly this November. Last Saturday, at Palazzo San Carlo in the Vatican, we had the joy of inaugurating a commemorative plaque honoring Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina on the fifth centenary of his birth. It was in this very house that the great master lived and composed, leaving the Church some of her most enduring treasures of sacred polyphony.

The ceremony, introduced by Fr. Robert Mehlhart OP, Rector of PIMS, included warm greetings from Card. José Tolentino de Mendonça, Grand Chancellor. The event was further elevated by a musical interlude from the PIMS Polyphonic Choir, paying homage to one of the greatest masters whose legacy continues to inspire.

With great joy and thanks to the generosity of our friends and benefactors, this monumental plaque now stands as a tribute to Palestrina’s life and work.

CELEBRATING SAINT CECILIA AND GRADUATION CEREMONY

Just a few days later, Holy Mass was celebrated in our Abbey Church in honor of Saint Cecilia, patroness of music. The liturgy was followed by the solemn graduation ceremony for fourteen outstanding international graduates. May their music resonate widely and bring beauty wherever they serve.

JUBILEE OF THE WORLD OF EDUCATION

Earlier in November, while the first notes of the new academic year were still echoing in our halls, at St. Peter’s Basilica, PIMS had the honor of participating in the Jubilee of the World of Education alongside students from the Pontifical Universities. The PIMS Polyphonic Choir, conducted by Fr. Robert Mehlhart OP, joined the Sistine Chapel Choir in the most solemn moments of the liturgy. During the celebration, Pope Leo XIV signed an Apostolic Letter commemorating the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, reaffirming the importance of Christian education for the integral growth of the human person.

Thank you for walking with us on this path. I hope this newsletter brings you closer to the life of our Institute and inspires your continued support and prayer.

May God bless you always,
Fr. Robert Mehlhart OP
Rector of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music

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