Trumpets, drums and all kinds of intruments made their way to St. Peter's Square. 43 Italian musicians came to the weekly General Audience to celebrate a very special anniversary with the Pope.
PIERLUIGI BORELLI
President, Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra
'We came here because it's our 140th anniversary. We wanted Pope Francis to bless us, so that our orchestra may play music not only another 140 years, but a thousand...â?
The Giuseppe Verdi Philarmonic Orchestra was founded in 1874. A group of the musicians of the Italian army decided to form a music band in their hometown.
During the audience, they were able to see the Pope from up close.
PIERLUIGI BORELLI
President, Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra
'We are very excited... We gave him an antique violin from the 1950's. We also gave him an official handkerchief to commemorate the audience with the Holy Father.â?
They also thanked Pope Francis for the invitation he gave them to attend the audience. They asked him to come and visit the city of Quarrata, the home of their philharmonic orchestra.
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