This weekend, Andrea Bocelli and Pharrell Williams led the Grace For The World concert live from St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Opening the show, which live-streamed on Disney+ and is available on ABC News YouTube in full, was the Italian maestro himself.
He was joined on stage by soul singer Teddy Swims for a special duet of John Newton’s Amazing Grace, which you can view below.
Reflecting on the concert as a whole after performing for Pope Leo IX a few days prior, Bocelli was clearly emotionally affected by the experience.
Posting pictures on Instagram, Bocelli said: “To ‘disarm words and the Earth,’ as urged—so preciously and so urgently—by the Holy Father, music can play its part… Music, the voice of the soul, that disperses the fog and brings light to our consciences (and to the answers we already carry within our hearts). Yesterday, I was there too, among the many thousands gathered before Saint Peter’s, and among the millions connected from afar. I experienced the double emotion of being an artist—offering what little talent I’ve been given in the service of good—and of being, above all, simply one person among many, listening to so many radiant testimonies of hope and fraternity.What took shape, in the very heart of Christianity, was a small yet immense miracle: the most sincere voice of humanity rose up, calling for peace and for lives to be lived with dignity, side by side, as brothers and sisters. In the coded yet crystal-clear language of art, and in the universal remedy of sung prayer, we glimpsed the indomitable strength of goodness.”
Bocelli continued: “An exceptional traveler, Goethe, once said of Rome: ‘Here the entire history of the world is bound together, and I count myself second-born from the day I set foot in this place.’Grace for the World carries that same hope: of renewal, of inner revolution, of awakening to what we are called to defend… Truth, freedom, dignity. I feel deep gratitude for those who made this possible—from Pope Leo XIV to Father Enzo Fortunato—and my thanks extend to all who brought this night of grace for the world to life. First and foremost to my invaluable traveling companion, @pharrell Wlliams. And then to all the artists and organizers: @karolg, @johnlegend, @teddyswims, @iamjhud, @ilvolomusic, @bambam1a, @jellyroll615, @angeliquekidjo, Monsignor Marco Frisina, @voicesoffire and the Choir of the Diocese of Rome. Thanks as well to Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, to Graça Machel Mandela, @naomi Campbell and even to the drones of @novaskystories, for their poetic and astonishing technological counterpoint.”