The St. Cecilia’s Choir of St. Joseph’s College toured the Holy Land recently on a pilgrimage. omprising boys between the ages of 12 -18, their powerful blend of soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices held audiences captive as they sang before masses gathered from all over the world at Christianity’s most treasured shrines.
The choral ensemble performed in Cana, Garden of Gethsemane, Mount Calvary, the Basilica of the Crucifixion, the Kibutz Hotel and a number of other places earning praise for their renditions of appropriate chants, hymns, canticles and anthems.
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| The choir in Bethlehem |
“For Christians, it is a significant place and we wanted to give a firsthand experience of Palestine,” explained Francis De Almeida, the enthusiastic choral director of the St Cecilia’s Choir of St. Joseph’s College. “We practice sacred hymns which have enormous relevance to the life of Christ. Wherever we sang, the pilgrims and the people who were gathered there loved our singing and were moved” added the choral director.
“It was really good,” voice Shalintha Rodrigo (14) and Charith Pathirathna (16). While Charith adds. “We sang, we prayed and visited the places where Jesus was born and performed miracles. It’s much better leaning through experience than in school.” Minesh Dissanayake (14) also agreed that getting to see all these places was invaluable.
“It was well organized by Superlink Travels and we had a really good musical and spiritual experience” says Nipun Yezitha (18) voicing his gratitude towards Ryan Lord, Nigel Van der wert, Akhila Jayasena, Shenal Perera and Darren Hakel – senior members of the choir who helped make the pilgrimage a possibility,
One of the focal points of their tour was the audience the choir had with His Beatitude Most Rev. Archbishop Dr. Fouad Twal, the Patriach of Jerusalem in the old city. A member of Israeli Parliament from Nazareth was also present at the brief concert the choristers presented.
Havindu Wichramarathne (15) explains that the pilgrimage was extremely enjoyable and changed his life while bringing the choir closer. “We work together, we sing together. One in harmony - That’s our motto” he smiles.
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