ABC TRIP TO ROME - 1999

It all started at the airport, the group excitement that is, where the air was charged with electricity and nervous anticipation. The many TV cameras and live satellite hook up to NBC 10 only added to the emotions.

After meeting our four priest; Father Rick, Father Orso, Father Moesis and 'Philly's Own' Father Jerry Carrey, we gave our TV audience, as well as anyone within earshot at the airport (and that included the crew from our flights) some samples of the great music that we'd be sharing with the pilgrims and natives in Italy.

The lucky ones among us would manage to catch some sleep that first evening on the plane, others (not so lucky) kept an all-night vigil. No matter what, we all looked pretty shabby by the time we arrived in Rome's DaVinci Airport. Thanks to a "La Ninã" summer, Rome was much cooler than normal. (A high of about 85° as compared to a possible 98°.) Jet-lag was surely settling in, however, during our first Mass at Santa Maria De La Fornaci Church. The boys did their best in spite of exhaustion; after all, it was our first Mass in Rome. After our first of many dinners at "Papa Rex" restaurant we were glad to settle into our "Bed & Blessings" type of accommodations. It was great just to sleep in a real bed!

The next day was no less exciting since we woke up early to sing at the Papal Audience. In our front row and center seats (thanks to our good Cardinal) the choir warmed up right in St. Peter's Square (both musically and temperature wise) while waiting for an event that would happen, most likely, only once in a lifetime; an audience with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Not every choir present had been invited to sing at the audience. Our ABC HAD been asked, in advance, to prepare something to sing for the Holy Father.

We could already hear the crowd roar with excitement before we could actually see the pope. By the time the pope-mobile was coming around the curve the ABC family was waving the white handkerchiefs in salute and the boys were getting their pitches for "TU ES PETRUS" ("Thou Art Peter") as the pontiff passed us by, close enough to touch!

With much pride, and in front of thousands of pilgrims from around the world, we heard the announcement: "...among the pilgrims present ...THE ARCHDIOCESAN BOY CHOIR OF PHILADELPHIA". By this time the boys were already humming the starting pitches for the Pope's favorite hymn to Mary, a very beautiful Polish Hymn, "SERDECZNA MATKO". The pope had just returned from his native Poland, (to be sure, we were afraid that Vatican officials were going to cancel that first audience (OURS!) if he was too ill or exhausted). When the boys stood and did their three-part, a cappella, rendition in perfect Polish, we can only imagine what emotions were stirred in the heart of the good Holy Father. Obviously, the boy's beautiful singing was appreciated since the Pope gave us a wave after the song. (He did NOT repeat the same gesture after the other groups finished, excuse us for bragging!) There was also a hearty applause from the large crowd as well, especially the group from Poland. At the end of the audience, just before the Papal Blessing, the Pope stood up and invited all present to sing the "Our Father" with him IN LATIN. There were some nuns and priests here and there in the crowd who were responding. Can you guess which group, as a whole, was chanting the "Pater Noster" (Our Father) as well as the Latin responses that precede the Pope's blessing? We represented our Archdiocese well, they should all be very proud of us.

At the end of the audience we gave a jubilant rendition of our signature song; "CANTATE DOMINO" ("Sing To The Lord) as this most glorious morning came to a close.

That same afternoon the choir stood under the massive dome of St. Peter & Paul in the Vatican and sang several selections. The words, "TU ES PETRUS" (which we happened to be singing) were displayed several hundred feet above our heads, in beautiful glass mosaic, and the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle was under our feet as we proclaimed, in song, the words of Christ: "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church". Flash cameras were going off like strobe lights and hundreds were gathered around us, but the moment felt personal and spiritual as we celebrated our Faith, our Church and our unbroken lineage from Peter to the present Vicar of Christ on earth.

On Friday, June 25th, we traveled for two hours to reach ASSISI. From the moment we stepped off of the bus the entire crowd fell in love with this quaint little medieval town. We followed the footsteps of St. Francis and St. Clare and entered the most beautiful churches, the youngest of which was more than eight hundred years old. After singing our "Spanish Ave" in a church so old that the facade was the remains of a pagan temple, we sang the 2:00 p.m. Mass in the Basilica of St. Francis. (His tomb is in the crypt of this building.) There was much, both spiritually and artistically, in this awesome church which was dedicated to such a saint as Francis to inspire the boys to sing with spirit and joy. They were also well over their jet-lag and were glad to be able to do such a fine job; the acoustics cooperated marvelously. Many pilgrims, who were not part of our group, became ABC fans from that moment on and were seen at our concerts and Masses in Rome. Although many were members of choirs themselves, they did not hesitate to tell us that hearing the boys was the high point of their trip! (Keep in mind, some of those people had sung Sunday Mass in the VATICAN but still insisted that hearing the boy choir was the best part of THEIR trip!)

Saturday evening Mass at the church (and tomb) of St. Clemente (the very same one who is mentioned twice in St. Paul's letters) was an event to go down into the History Books for the ABC. Catholic Mass has been celebrated on that very spot since the year 200 A. D., without a doubt, the choir had never before participated in a Liturgy in such an ancient place of Christian worship. The space just behind the Main Altar (where our boys were singing) was put in during the sixth century, JUST FOR BOY CHOIRS, and was called (no lie) a SCHOLA CANTORUM! Just before the Mass, our boys were told that boy choirs have been singing on that very spot for well over 1,400 years. The Irish Dominicans have staffed and maintained the building since the 16th century.

If the Pope, the Vatican and Assisi were the Spiritual high notes of our trip, the concert at St. Alphonsus Basilica - SHRINE OF OUR MOTHER OF PEPTUAL HELP - (home of the, centuries old, original icon) was the summit of our artistic endeavors. Our finest and most well received concert took place here on Sunday evening, June 27th.

Some comments must be made about the AUDIENCE at the concert on the MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP Feast Day.

Once you have made a good impression on a Latin audience, once you have won them over, so to speak, you should not be surprised at their warmth and appreciation during a good concert. (After twenty-five years of concerts in Italy, Spain and Portugal, I know what I'm talking about.) It gave me great joy to let our boys live this experience. If you were not there, let me tell you about the long, long applause after each of our presentations, the many people who remained long after the concert so that they could personally congratulate the choir members as well as the director and our fine accompanist. There were many words of gratitude and praise (in many languages) as well as handshakes, embraces and compliments.

What an opportunity for our boys to be able to share with people from far away lands the treasure of Sacred Music. It will be a long time before we can perform before such an elegant, appreciative audience. These were people who recognize artistry. Keep in mind, audiences such as that one have heard the best of "choir on tour", and they LOVED us! Not since the ABC concert in Avila, Spain (1995) have the boys been given such a warm, kind reception from an audience.

And how did this very positive response to our many months (...years) of hard work affect the average choir boy? To answer, it put the boys on a musical high that lasted for days. Most of the boys (this has happened before on tour) were caught up in something (for want of a better phrase) that we call a "singing jag". It is very interesting to see a choir boy in this state, it is not a bad experience, quite the opposite. Some of the symptoms are: round the clock, uninhibited singing; impromptu concerts springing up regardless of place; number in group or adequate balance of harmonic voices; the courage to sing without the director (or, having one of the boys or the accompanist become a 'stand-in' director). Many agree that these surprise displays of singing, "JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT", are among the best memories that we take home with us after a major tour.

There were many musical surprises during our last few days in Rome. After singing in the beautiful Saint Ignatius Church, the pastor asked us to sing on the church steps so as to reach the people in the little square (piazza) just in front of the Basilica. (He was a Jesuit, to be sure.)

Our last Mass (in Europe) at Santa Susana Church (this is the place where we had home-made corn muffins after Mass, baked by the Pastor himself) was followed by the singing of "Teresa's Bookmark". The boys choir just upped and walked to another church, across the street from St. Susana, entered at the offertory of the Mass, sang the 'Bookmark' as if it were the offertory hymn (with permission from the local priest) while gazing at the MOST beautiful statue of Teresa of Avila. The saint is falling into a state of ecstasy, the work is by none other than Bernini himself. The church would normally have NOT been open at this particular time of day, but this was a major feast day (and HOLY DAY) in Rome; The Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul.

The tour ended with a visit to Boy's Town, Rome. We all knew that something very special was coming to a close so we sang much more at Boy's Town than we had planned. We had our fun filled "LAST NIGHT IN ROME" Celebration at good old "PAPA REX"! We sang, danced and then we danced some more. There were sights and sounds to behold.

In closing, each boy and family have their own story to tell. And what a lucky group of travelers were we. Upon arriving home in Philadelphia International Airport, when the airlines saw how exhausted we were at the end of such a long journey, they decided to deliver our luggage straight home to our front doors so that we wouldn't have to lug them through customs and then all the way to our final destinations! Once home, it has been said, not too many boys had to be told more than once to "go to sleep"?!?

All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime, and then some.

PRAISE GOD,