The following are the Holy Father Leo XIV’s words of greeting yesterday evening at the end of the concert organized in his honour by the suburbicarian diocese of Albano, in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo:

Greeting of the Holy Father

Good evening, everyone: welcome!

Too many words at this moment would really be something of an “anti-climax”; it is better to say two or three short but heartfelt words.

First of all, a big thank you to the performers, who deserve yet another round of applause – they were truly brilliant. Thank you, thank you! To the diocese of Albano, which organized this concert – what a wonderful gift! Thank you to the benefactors, and to all of you here today, because in these few minutes of beauty we have truly been able to experience something great: namely, to enter in so many ways into what God intended in Creation, which is, quite simply, beauty. We live in a world, today, where beauty is very often missing: so many problems, wars, conflicts, hatred, violence, unemployment and many other things. To have the opportunity to gather together for an occasion such as this is truly a great gift, because it reminds us that there is something better, and that men and women, when they want, all together, can offer beauty, which, springing from the heart, helps us to rise up towards God.

You know that just over a month ago I made an Apostolic Journey to Spain: the motto of the journey was “Alzad la mirada”. Let us raise our eyes, our gaze, towards Heaven. Music, art, and beauty are indeed tools that help us to look towards God, through a movement that is truly one of the finest aspects of being human. So, once again, I sincerely thank you for giving us this opportunity, this evening, to experience beauty and truly to find ourselves in what God has chosen to bestow upon us all.

Thank you all, have a good evening!

Well then, let us bring the evening to a close by asking God to bless each and every one of you and all your loved ones, knowing in our hearts and in the Spirit that the Lord is truly always with us.

[Blessing]