According to Andrea Bocelli, Pope Francis is a gift from Heaven and a blessing given for the world.
The world-famous tenor, who sang in Philadelphia during Saturday evening’s Family Festival at the World Meeting of Families, told this yesterday to ZENIT.
Widely considered one of the greatest singing talents in the world today, Andrea Bocelli has sold more than 70 million records worldwide. The multiple award winning and world recognized Italian tenor has not had an easy life, however. Born in 1958, Bocelli was afflicted with congenital glaucoma. After suffering a brain hemorrhage following a soccer accident, he permanently lost his sight. After practicing law, he pursued his musical career, with which he has taken the world by storm. The 56-year-old singer is married with three children. In addition, he has a charitable foundation and has met the current and past two Popes.
“It is a great honor for me to be in Philadelphia, and have the possibility to sing, once again, in front of the Holy Father, thus giving my humble contribution as a fervent Catholic,” said Bocelli.
“St. Augustine,” he noted, “reminds us that singing can be an extraordinary form of prayer. This is my goal, my intention: to bring the joy of praying together.”
On the Holy Father, Bocelli highlighted, “Pope Francis is a blessing given to the world.”
“I have for him a sincere, profound devotion,” he said. “I think this journey represents for the United States a precious opportunity to embrace this giant, a man of God, a gift from Heaven, a point of reference and a providential source of hope for our world.”
“The presence of Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) in Philadelphia,” the world famous tenor went on to say, “emphasizes the fundamental importance of the subject and of the message that this meeting of high spiritual value embodies, and that is the role of the family, meant as the primary and irreplaceable building block of society.”
When Vanity Fair named Pope Francis man of the year in 2013, Andrea Bocelli was one of six people interviewed to comment on the new Pope. Bocelli shared that when he heard Pope Francis‘ first words, his eyes filled up with tears.
“So Pope Francis entered my heart, he conquered it with his genuine humility, with the disarming force of his faith, with all that he has experienced which illuminates his words and softens with the tone of his voice,” he said.
In a press conference in the Vatican in May, Bocelli responded to a question from ZENIT on his own family. Bocelli confirmed it is true that a doctor told his mother to terminate her pregnancy when she was carrying him. “It is true,” he said, noting that if his mother had terminated the pregnancy as doctors expecting complications to arise had advised, “I would not be here.”
“I’m here because my mother decided to continue my pregnancy,” he said.
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On the NET:
Andrea Bocelli’s Website: http://www.andreabocelli.com/
