CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- In honor of their bicentenary, the Vatican Gendarmerie have decided to celebrate with an act of mercy: they will host a concert that will be used to fund a children\u2019s hospital in Bangui and earthquake relief efforts in Central Italy.<\/p>\nAccording to the Gendarme Commander Domenico Gianni, the idea came about as the result of the Pope\u2019s visit to the children\u2019s hospital in Bangui, Central African Republic, during his November 2015 visit, during which he opened the first Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy.<\/p>\n
The visit to the hospital was \u201ca very strong experience, not only as a man, but as a father,\u201d Gianni told journalists during a Dec. 16 news conference presenting the initiative.<\/p>\n
While accompanying the Pope, they saw children in \u201cterrible conditions,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were malnourished children\u2026it was a situation that really touched us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gianni, as head of the Vatican Gendarmerie, travels everywhere with the Pope, and so is able to see the reality of the people in each country firsthand.<\/p>\n
As a response to the situation in Bangui, the Vatican Gendarmerie has partnered with Italian pop legend Claudio Baglioni, considered one of the greatest singers\/songwriters in Italy and who is widely known for his hit song \u201cAvrai,\u201d to put on the concert in honor of their 200th anniversary.<\/p>\n
The Gendarmerie Corps was founded by Pope Pius VII in 1816 as the \u201cPontifical Carabinieri Corps\u201d with the restoration of the State of the Church following the Congress of Vienna. Their primary role is to provide security for the Pope and the public within the territory of Vatican City, in collaboration with the Pontifical Swiss Guard.<\/p>\n
The title of the concert project carries the same name as Baglioni\u2019s hit song \u201cAvrai,\u201d and is aimed at raising money to fund both a new pediatric wing in the Bangui hospital, including a malnutrition department, and formation courses for doctors, as well as a center for children in one of the towns devastated by the earthquakes that hit Central Italy earlier this fall.<\/p>\n
All of the projects carried out on the Bangui hospital will be modeled after and followed closely by Rome\u2019s Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital, the patients and staff of which met Pope Francis for an audience yesterday.<\/p>\n
Set to take place in the Vatican\u2019s Paul VI Hall Dec. 17, the concert will feature music by Baglioni himself, who will perform a symphony with 70 different voices, including his own group of 10 musicians and vocalists and the \u201cGiuseppe Verdi\u201d choir of Rome, composed of more than 60 people.<\/p>\n
The music will consist of several genres and thematic songs combined with a few Christmas songs. All songs in different languages will be translated and adapted into Italian.<\/p>\n
The concert will also coincide with Pope Francis\u2019 80th birthday, a fact that Baglioni said is \u201ca sign\u201d and \u201ca great gift.\u201d With the concert, they will be able \u201cto have a celebration\u201d for the Pope by offering hope to the poor children of Bangui, and those who lost everything in the Central Italian earthquakes.<\/p>\n
He said musicians such as him \u201cneed to make ourselves be a little more generous, because we have some privileges in our lives,\u201d and to learn from the children who fight daily against the challenges they face.<\/p>\n
Everyone who collaborated in the \u201cAvrai\u201d project with Baglioni met the Pope for a private audience Dec. 14 to show him the motive and goal of the concert, and to give him the first 500,000 euros collected.<\/p>\n
Donations have so far been collected through ticket sales for the concert, which sold out fast, as well as through a special text-message service for those who wanted to contribute, but who for some reason were unable to attend the concert.<\/p>\n
Bangi\u2019s new Cardinal, Dieudonne Nzapalainga, was also present at the new conference. He told journalists that when Pope Francis traveled to the Central African Republic in 2015, he did so \u201cto touch human misery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Central Africa there are many children who want to be cured but can\u2019t be,\u201d he said, noting that children come to be treated by technicians and doctors in tents, rather than an official building.<\/p>\n
Pope Francis saw this \u201cmisery\u201d firsthand, the cardinal said, calling the Pope\u2019s visit \u201ca blessing\u201d for the entire country. He also thanked the Vatican Gendarmes for their work both during the Pope\u2019s trip and in arranging the concert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also tried to mobilize Central Africa for this project of solidarity. It\u2019s something that comes from the heart,\u201d he said, noting that \u201csoon it will be Christmas, and this project arrives just in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he won\u2019t be able to attend the concert, Pope Francis is expected to give a \u201clong message\u201d to attendees at the beginning, which will likely be read aloud or shown on video.<\/p>\n
In his comments to journalists, Gianni said the concert is above all a response to the Pope\u2019s April 2 prayer vigil for the feast of Divine Mercy, when he said that \u201cHow nice would it be if as a monument of this Year of Mercy, if there is in every diocese a structural work of mercy: a hospital, a house for the elderly, for abandoned children, a school where there was none, a recovery house for drug addicts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be nice if every diocese were to think: what can I leave as a living memory, as a living work of mercy?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Dec 16, 2016 \/ 08:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- In honor of their bicentenary, the Vatican Gendarmerie have decided to celebrate with an act of mercy: they will host a concert that will be used to fund a children’s hospital in Bangui and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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