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The El Escorial Boys’ Choir, very present at the events of Pope Leo XIV’s journey in Madrid

During Pope Leo XIV’s first days in Spain, the El Escorial Boys’ Choir has played a significant role at several moments: at the meeting with the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace on his arrival in Madrid; this morning, during the Corpus Christi Mass in the Plaza de Cibeles; and finally on the Holy Father’s flight from Barcelona to Gran Canaria, where he will once again be able to hear this historic boys’ choir, directed by the Augustinian Fr. Pedro Alberto Sánchez, OSA, through the papal plane’s music system.

Amparo Latre · 3 min read Share

At the Royal Palace

On Saturday, June 6, shortly before noon, under the imposing domes of the palace chapel, those attending Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with the Royal Household enjoyed a performance by the El Escorial Boys’ Choir.
The boys’ voices performed two masterpieces of sacred music for the Royal Family and the Vatican delegation:
– “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl
– “Tu es Petrus” by Giovanni da Palestrina, the famous chant that traditionally celebrates the figure of the Pontiff and apostolic succession.

Corpus Christi Mass

Today, Sunday, June 7, the solemnity of Corpus Christi, the El Escorial Boys’ Choir was one of the musical groups that took part in the Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV in the Plaza de Cibeles.
The music was provided by a very large team of 400 musicians and singers from different church groups, conducted by Toño Casado: the WYD Orchestra, the WYD Choir, the Saint John of Ávila Choir, the Boys’ Choir of the Abbey of the Holy Cross, the WYD Boys’ Choir and the Boys’ Choir of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
During the Mass they performed:
– Pueblo de Reyes
– Kyrie Argues
– Gloria
– Lauda Sion Salvatorem
– Kyrie eléison
– Santo
– Cordero de Dios
– Pan divino y gracioso
– Pan de vida eterna
– Nada de turbe
– Ubi caritas
– Kyrie Taize
– Oh, buen Jesús
– Hambre de Dios
– Anima Christi
– Ave Verum Corpus
– Quédate, Señor, con nosotros
– Beberemos la copa de Cristo
– Bendito, bendito, bendito sea Dios
– Tantum Ergo

Barcelona–Canary Islands flight

The papal flight will be on an Airbus A321, the largest model in Iberia’s A320 family. For the occasion, the airline has prepared a series of special touches to pay tribute to the Pontiff and the Vatican.

These include the papal coat of arms beside the aircraft’s main door, personalized headrests with Vatican symbols and a special music selection performed by the El Escorial Boys’ Choir to accompany the boarding and disembarking of the papal delegation.

Fr. Pedro Alberto Sánchez, OSA

It is not the first time the Boys’ Choir has sung during a journey of this kind. In 2011 they also sang for Pope Benedict XVI at his meeting with the university world at the Monastery of El Escorial.

A few months ago, Fr. Pedro Alberto Sánchez, Director of the Boys’ Choir, told Cardinal José Cobo, Archbishop of Madrid, of his wish to take part in some way in the celebrations of these days, and this has been the result.

In the following audio, the Augustinian friar explains how everything was organized and how the preparations for these performances went.

The choirboys, for their part, greatly enjoyed the experience, which was especially meaningful for some of them who are Peruvian.

 

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