The a capella choir of Bishop Lynch High School is back home in Dallas after witnessing history. Three singers from the choir are residents of Lakewood.
The high school choir was invited to perform for Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican after performing in St. Peters Basilica 5 years ago. The students were scheduled to sing for the Pope and for other cathedrals in Rome between March 7 and March 14.
On February 28 Pope Benedict announced his resignation. Bishop Lynch junior Sara Grinbergs was disappointed about not having the chance to sing for Pope Benedict XVI, but remained excited for the choir trip, saying “Rome is still Rome.”
Despite the absence of a papal audience, the choir still visited sacred Christian sites and performed at the evening mass for St. Peters Basilica as originally planned. Senior Logan Keller says “we worked hard all year and there was a moment after we finished our first song in the cathedral and you could still hear our voices reverberating in the walls…it was so moving that it gave me the chills.”
Sophomore Sydney Kuby, called the choir tour her “favorite trip.” A highlight for her was standing in the rain last Wednesday morning with her Mom waiting for smoke to come out of the Sistine Chapel and a new Pope to be announced. She describes the environment as “mob-like” with “people pushing and excitedly waiting to see if the smoke was black or white.”
Later that Wednesday, the choir went out to dinner at Ristorante Benito in Rome. Logan and Sydney’s mothers, who were there to help chaperone the choir group, remained to watch and wait for white smoke to appear. When a new pope was announced, Sydney’s mother called her daughter with the news.
In the restaurant the choir and other patrons clapped and cheered after learning that cardinals elected Pope Francis to be the new pope. Several hours later, around midnight, the choir group returned to St. Peters Basilica to sing together and pray for newly elected Pope Francis. Logan says, “Praying for Pope Francis together at midnight was a highlight of the trip for me” adding “there are no words to describe how incredible this trip was.”
Check out the YouTube video below to see photos from the trip to Rome and  listen to the Bishop Lynch choir sing.
