Don Walter Insero, director of the Office of Social Communication of the Diocese of Rome, led the opening press conference yesterday. Pope Francis arrived at 6:45 pm, listened to the testimonies of different participating families, and delivered a speech to conclude the opening ceremony.
Today’s sessions include the participation of the three young tenors of “Il Volo” (Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto, and Piero Barone) who will sing “Grande amore” in English. This is the song with which they won the San Remo Festival.
Listen to your grandparents
“For us, the most important thing is the family. We thank the Pope for the invitation. I believe in the family. Wherever I am in the world, I cannot finish my day until I talk with my mom,” Piero Barone, one of the singers of the group, told Aleteia.
“We have a strong relationship with our grandparents. They are both our memory and our roots,” said Gianluca Ginoble. Ignazio Boschetto told Aleteia that he enjoys his parents and looks forward to the moment when he will eventually have a family of his own.
Caring for Ukraine
2,000 delegates from 120 countries met in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall to listen to the testimonies of Ukrainian families, transmitting from a parish church in Kyiv. The parish priest Pedro Zafra will accompany them.
After the call, five testimonies will be shared, beginning with that of Francesco Beltrame Quattrocchi, the grandson of the blessed couple sponsoring the X World Meeting of Families, and Gilberto Grossi, a neurosurgeon who received a healing recognized by the Church as a miracle through the intercession of Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi.
The Pope will enter the premises while “Il Volo” sings their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” accompanied by the Philharmonic orchestra of Marche, Italy.
The American Cardinal Kevin Farrell will also be there, accompanied by a Roman family and other delegates. The meeting will end with the official anthem of the Meeting, “We believe in love,” sung by the Choir of the Diocese of Rome, conducted by Bishop Marco Frisina.
