These iconic images of the Pope in an empty St. Peter's Square during the Covid-19 pandemic remained engraved in the minds of many people who followed this moment of prayer online.
That moment, initially captured in images, was also captured in music.
“I saw a man, old and limping, go up the many steps, carrying on his shoulders all the pain of the world.”
It's the song “Rajt Raġel,” Maltese for “I saw a man.” The lyrics come from a poem written in Italian by Giuseppe Messe; translated into Maltese by Malta's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Evarist Bartolo; and set to music by Philip Vella, a guitarist and award-winning composer from Malta.
PHILIP VELLA
“The lyrics actually describe the situation where they saw the Pope actually solitary in the rain, in the middle of the Vatican Square, praying and carrying the weight kind of, of all the people and all the worries of the people due to the pandemic, due to Good Friday and due to the other situations many people could have had.”
The day after the song was released, Vella got a phone call from the Ambassador of Malta to the Holy See, Mr. Frank Zammit, who encouraged Vella to present the CD to Pope Francis as soon as travel restrictions eased. That moment finally came more than a year later.
-We come from Malta.
-Oh! From Malta!
-It's an honor for me to be... And my wife, my son... I'd like to present to you a CD, a song which I wrote on the occasion of last year's Good Friday. And I wrote the music and I sang it. And the Minister of Foreign Affairs wrote the lyrics. I would like to present it to you.
-Thank you very much. That's very kind of you.
-It's an honor for me to be in your presence.
PHILIP VELLA
“I managed to present the CD to the Pope, which was one of the highlights actually in my career, in my life. I was really moved in doing this. I saw a man say, 'No one is saved alone,” because we are not alone if we believe in God and His salvation.”
Philip Vella says he is looking forward to the Pope's visit to Malta in December, and hopes he will have the opportunity to sing Rajt Raġel for the very man who inspired it.
CT
MG / VM / Philip Vella
