Karol G., Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and other artists such as Pharrell Williams, John Legend, Teddy Swims, Jelly Roll, Bambam and Angélique Kidjo, will offer a concert in the Plaza de San Pedro next month.
The September 13 concert, which is free and open to the public, will also include a show of lights with drones and talks on issues such as peace, justice, food, freedom and humanity.
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Under the slogan “Grace for the world”, the event will close the third edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, organized by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and the Basilica of San Pedro, and will be preceded by round tables on social issues in Rome and city of the Vatican on September 12 and 13.
Pope Francis created the Fratelli Tutti Foundation in late 2021. His name is due to his 2020 homonymous encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, which expanded the themes of the “Document on human fraternity for world peace and common coexistence”, Signed with Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, great magnet of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
The final event of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity 2025 aims to “communicate to the entire world, with a symbolic hug, the joy of fraternal love,” said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, president of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and Arciprest of the Basilica of San Pedro, at a press conference on August 29 at the Vatican.
Gambetti said the organizers tried to “expand our international scope” with the choice of musical artists.
At the press conference, the Cardinal explained that Karol G – Colombian artist of reggaeton and urban pop of a Grammy – was asked to participate for being Latin American and for his important social work with women and children. “We seemed relevant to the issue we are about to address,” said Gambetti.
In front of the Vatican Basilica, leading American artists will also take the stage: rapper Jelly Roll and singer -songwriters John Legend, Teddy Swims and Pharrell Williams.
The Thai rapper Bambam, member of the Boy Band South Korean Got7, will perform along with Angélique Kidjo, singer, actress and Franco-Beninese activist. The concert will also have the participation of the Diocese choir of Rome and the Choir Gospel Voces de Fuego.
Andrea Bokelli, who has already acted in the Plaza de San Pedro on previous occasions, shared in a video message on August 29 that his participation in the concert is “a great honor.”
“I sincerely hope that I really get to spread the feeling of brotherhood and great humanity in the hearts of all, which is needed,” added the famous world -famous tenor.
The World Meeting on Human Fraternity 2025 will begin with an encounter with Pope Leo XIV on September 12. Subsequently, the program will focus on round tables on issues such as artificial intelligence, education, economy, literature, childhood, health and the environment.
On September 13 there will be an assembly on the topic “What does it mean to be human today” and a visit to the Basilica of San Pedro and the Holy Gate of the Jubileo de la Esperanza.
“While the world suffers wars, loneliness and even new poverty, we have decided to stop and ask what human being today means,” said Fr. Francesco Occhetta, SJ, general secretary of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation, on August 29.
“It is not an easy question, it even seems a bit naive, but it is the only one that can save us if we do it together,” he added.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA
Hannah Brockhaus
Hannah Brockhaus is correspondent in Rome by Catholic News Agency. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from the State University Truman in Missouri.