VATICAN CITY — The Sistine Chapel Choir, whose boys and men sing for the pope at all his Masses, is about to get some illustrious company.
The Westminster Abbey Choir, the world-renowned chorus that last year performed at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, will join the Sistine singers at a special papal Mass on Friday in St. Peter’s Basilica, a historic event seen as a perfect symbol of Christian harmony after centuries of discord.
It’s the first time in its 500-plus year history that the pope’s personal choir will sing as a single chorus with another choir, let alone one from the breakaway Anglican church.
And this isn’t any ordinary chorus: The Westminster Abbey Choir represents some of the finest of the Anglican church’s liturgical music traditions.
As a result, the symbolism of the choirs from the two churches uniting into one is enormous, particularly given Pope Benedict XVI’s stated aim of trying to unite all Christians.
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