The Role of Music

From the VIS:

VATICAN CITY, SEP 5, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday evening, Benedict XVI attended a concert held in the internal courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo. The event was organized in his honor by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra for celebrations marking the 1000th anniversary of the archdiocese of Bamberg, Germany.

In remarks made at the end of the concert, the Pope indicated that music "has the power to lead us back ... to the Creator of all harmony, creating a resonance within us which is like being in tune with the beauty and truth of God, with the reality which no human knowledge or philosophy can ever express."

After thanking the conductor and the members of orchestra, as well as the organizers and promoters of the event, the Holy Father described the concert as "a gift which I interpret as being the sign of a special bond of affection between the archdiocese of Bamberg and Peter's Successor."

"May your jubilee pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles and to Peter's current Successor," the Holy Father concluded, "strengthen your faith and joy in God, that you may become His witnesses in daily life."