Jeremy Stone of Coogee, one of 32 boys from St Mary's Cathedral Choir, can't believe he is in Rome to sing for Pope Francis today.
"It feels REALLY cool because not many people get given these opportunities," the 12-year-old singer says.
Liam O'Hara, 9, of Earlwood, and Cameron Roper-Tyler, 11, of Zetland rehearse with St Mary's Cathedral Choir in Italy before their performance for the Pope this Sunday in Rome.
Photo: Richard Flynn
Australia's oldest choir will join the world's oldest choir, the Sistine Choir, to perform the Papal Mass in St Peter's Basilica this Pentecost Sunday. It will be televised around the world on Vatican television.
For many of the choristers, who range in age from nine to 13, this is the first time they have travelled outside Australia. In order to calm their nerves for today's Papal performance, the boys have been focusing on Italian food.
Sydney choirboys in Italy, from left to right: Benjamin Hannah, 10, of Balmain, Andrew Alexander, 9, of Balmain, Robert Fehlberg, 9, of Pymble, Khang Mai, 10, of Hurlstone Park, and Aden O'Hara, 13, of Earlwood.
Photo: Richard Flynn
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From the "metre-long pizzas" to "the pigeons trying to eat all of our food", says Benedict Vassallo, 12, of Darlinghurst.
The Sydney choir, comprising 32 scholarship students from St Mary's Cathedral College and 11 adult singers, has been in Europe for three weeks, singing at official functions in Belgium and Italy.
They performed at the 12th International Gregorian Festival of Watou, Belgium, and gave a solemn performance at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, which is dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers killed during World War I.
St Mary's Cathedral Choir director of music Thomas Wilson said the opportunity to sing for Pope Francis will be something he and the choir will never forget. "It certainly is an honour performing for the Pope, and one that I'm sure the boys will remember for the rest of their lives," he said.
Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral Choir in Santo Stefano at Ponte in Florence.
Photo: Richard Flynn
St Mary's Cathedral Choir was founded in 1818 by Irish woman Catherine Fitzpatrick, who undertook the journey from Ireland to Australia with her young family in order to be near her convict husband. She began training a newly formed choir of boys – consisting mainly of her own sons – to sing European sacred music in the then fledgling colony of New South Wales. The choir sang for the first Catholic services in the colony, later becoming the choir of the first St Mary's Church, and eventually the choir of St Mary's Cathedral.
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Helen Pitt is a journalist at the The Sydney Morning Herald.
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