Pope Leo XIV lauds polyphony, pays tribute to Palestrina

June 19, 2025

Addressing participants in an event marking the 500th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the Italian composer and lauded polyphony.

The event was organized by the Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci Foundation, named after the late director of the Sistine Chapel Choir. In praising sacred polyphony, Pope Leo repeatedly cited the teaching of Pope St. Pius X and the Second Vatican Council.

Palestrina “was, in the history of the Church, one of the composers who contributed most to the promotion of sacred music, for ‘the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful’ (St. Pius X, Inter sollicitudines), in the delicate, and at the same time exciting, context of the Counter-Reformation,” the Pontiff said in his Italian-language address, delivered on June 18. “His compositions, solemn and austere, inspired by Gregorian chant, closely unite music and liturgy, ‘both by giving prayer a sweeter expression and fostering unanimity, and by enriching the sacred rites with greater solemnity’ (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium).”

The Pope continued:

Polyphony itself, moreover, is a musical form full of meaning, for prayer and for Christian life.

First of all, in fact, it is inspired by the Sacred Text, which it aims to “clothe with appropriate melody” (Inter sollicitudines) so that it can better reach “the intelligence of the faithful” (ibid.). Furthermore, it achieves this goal by entrusting the words to several voices, each of which repeats them in its own and original way, with varied and complementary melodic and harmonic movements. Finally, it harmonizes everything thanks to the skill with which the composer develops and intertwines the melodies, respecting the rules of counterpoint, making them echo each other, sometimes even creating dissonances, which then find resolution in new chords.

The effect of this dynamic unity in diversity—a metaphor for our common journey of faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit—is to help the listener to enter ever more deeply into the mystery expressed by the words, responding, where appropriate, with responsories or in alternatim.

“Precisely thanks to this richness of form and content, the Roman polyphonic tradition, in addition to having left us an immense heritage of art and spirituality, continues to be even today, in the musical field, a point of reference to look to, albeit with the necessary adaptations, in sacred and liturgical composition, so that through singing ‘the faithful participate fully, consciously and actively in the liturgy’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14), with profound involvement of voice, mind and heart,” the Pope added. “Of all this, the Missa Papae Marcelli, in its genre, is an example par excellence, as is the precious repertoire of compositions left to us by the unforgettable Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, illustrious composer and director of the Sistine Chapel Choir for almost 50 years.”

 

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Further information:

• DISCORSO DEL SANTO PADRE LEONE XIV AI PARTECIPANTI ALL’EVENTO PROMOSSO DALLA FONDAZIONE DOMENICO BARTOLUCCI NEL 500° ANNIVERSARIO DELLA NASCITA DI G.P. DA PALESTRINA (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana)