Papal choir to give two concerts

The 62-member Papal choir of the Sistine Chapel will be in Malta this weekend to present two concerts and take part in a solemn pontifical High Mass and a seminar on St Paul in the Maltese islands.

The choir's first official appointment is the Pontifical High Mass led by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca at the Mdina Cathedral on Sunday at 10 a.m.

Their first concert will be at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta, on Sunday at 7.30 p.m. The second, with a different repertoire, will be at St George's Basilica, in Victoria, on Monday at 7.30 p.m. Both concerts will be based completely on sacred music and will last around 90 minutes. On Monday morning, the choir will take part in a forum on St Paul in the Maltese Islands being held at the Wignacourt Museum between 11.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. The Maltese speakers at the seminar are Mgr Gwann Azzopardi, Fr Peter Serracino Inglott and Mgr Philip Calleja.

Mgr Lawrence Mifsud, from the Mdina cathedral, said that the choir had last come to Malta in 1958 on the invitation of Mgr Mercieca, who was seminary rector. The choir then had also played at St George's Basilica.

The aim of this year's visit is to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of St Paul's visit to the Maltese Islands as well as the 25th anniversary of the setting up of the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat.

Mgr Joseph Farrugia, archpriest at St George's Basilica, invited choir members and directors in Malta to make the most of the event and learn from this choir.

Salvador Miguel Porcaro, who is arranging the visit, said the choir would be accompanied by 35 ambassadors from different countries accorded to the Holy See and by distinguished Italian personalities.