LONDON, UK — The Vatican has invited the Westminster Abbey choir to sing at St. Peter’s basilica in an unprecedented ecumenical gesture.
The Westminster Abbey choir will join with the Sistine Chapel choir to perform at liturgical celebrations of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29. In a joint statement, leaders of the two groups observed that “this momentous ecumenical occasion is the first time in its over-500 year history that the Sistine Chapel Choir has joined forces with another choir.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, welcomed the news as “a powerful reminder of the call that our churches share to be faithful to the apostolic fullness of the Gospel today.” The Anglican leader pointed out that it is appropriate for the choir to perform in St. Peter’s basilica because St. Peter is the patron of Westminster Abbey.
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