Classical concert for Pope to be offered next week

Picking up where a series of musical evenings left off last spring, the Holy Father will be welcomed back to the Vatican after his summer stay at Castel Gandolfo with a classical concert.

Italian energy provider ENI is offering a concert to Pope Benedict shortly after his return to the Vatican this week. On Oct. 1 at the Paul VI Hall, where general audiences are often held, the orchestra and choir of Italy's National Academy of St. Cecilia will perform the works of Haydn and Beethoven for the Holy Father.

Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major "The Surprise," Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's "Vergine romana" and Ludwig van Beethoven's Choral Fantasy C Minor Op. 80 are on the program for the evening concert.

The Holy Father has been treated to several other grand musical evenings at the Vatican this year. As part of an initiative organized by the Vatican council for Christian unity and the Russian Orthodox Church called the "Days of Russian Culture and Spirituality in the Vatican" last May, Patriarch Kirill I gave the Pope a concert as a gift to wrap up two days of events.

In the months prior to this occasion, a concert was held for the Pope by Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano for the anniversary of his election and his birthday, and a Haydn-based program was presented in his honor by the Pontifical Household.