DMVC set to light up the Eternal City in May
EXCITEMENT is certainly mounting ahead of the much-anticipated visit by the Drogheda Male Voice Choir this month to the Eternal City.
Over 120 people from the town, including the choir members, are booked on the trip to Rome on May 11th, where the choir will perform in honour of Drogheda-born Christian Brother, Christopher ‘Sonny’ Kierans, who to retire early next year after 46 years service, many of those in the Vatican City.
The choir will sing at the Saturday Vigil Mass in St Peters’ Basilica in the Vatican and also at the official reception in the Irish Embassy in Rome.
But those travelling will also have the opportunity to see some of the amazing sights and delights Italy’s capital has to offer.
“On day two after arrival, a coach will take us all to the Catacombs of St Callixtus,” explains choir member Seamie Briscoe, who was a recent Civic Award winner like Sonny Kierans.
“From there, we will continue to the magnificent Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.”
Later that day will include a visit to the Colosseum, where many Christians were martyred in the arena and it is now the setting for Stations of the Cross with the Holy Father every Good Friday.
“From there we will start our night tour of the city by coach taking in the Circus Maximus and Palatine Hill, the Jewish Ghetto, St Peter’s/Vatican City, the Colosseum and Forum, Piazza Venezia and Capitoline Hill, and more.”
The following day, the group will travel to the Irish College where the choir will sing at 10am Mass for the Feast of the Ascension. Everyone will then visit St Peter’s Basilica and the tombs of St Peter and St John Paul II, before the choir will sing at the 5.15pm Mass.
“Whilst this is a splendid trip for the choir and our party, the main reason for undertaking this visit is to honour a great Drogheda person who has been so helpful to everybody from his native town and has devoted his life to his vocation,” adds Seamie, who has been a member of the choir since it started in
“Sonny has always assisted and provided help to his fellow towns folk when they visited Rome and the Vatican City.”
The group will also visit the Spanish Steps and the beautiful Propaganda Fide Chapel designed by Borromini where St Oliver Plunkett was ordained a priest. The choir can sing a hymn here in honour of this great martyr, as well as walk in the area of the Imperial Forum and Via degli Ibernesi, where St Oliver Plunkett studied.
The final day will include a visit to St Peter’s for an audience with the Holy Father and then to Castelgandolfo.