Pope thanks Year of Faith concert in Vatican

24 June, 2013 - Pope Francis on Saturday sent a message to a concert in the Vatican saying music helps elevate the soul. “I would like to say thank you to all those who made this concert possible and who organized it in the Year of Faith,” the Pope wrote. In particular he thanked the soloists, the choir of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Conductor Juraj Valčuha for the remarkable performance of what the Pope described as a “monumental Symphony, which not only helps us pause for a moment and elevate the soul, but provokes in us all feelings and emotions that drive us to reflection.”