Pope Leo XIV highlights music as a “dwelling place for the soul” at Christmas and awards the 2025 Ratzinger Prize to Maestro Riccardo Muti for making God’s presence resound through beauty
Newsroom (13/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) In a series of events marking the approach of Christmas, Pope Leo XIV has underscored the profound spiritual and human dimensions of music, describing it as a companion to life’s journeys and a pathway to encountering God.
During a meeting with artists and organizers involved in the Vatican’s annual Christmas concert, the Pope reflected on the festive season’s reminder that God reveals Himself not in grandeur, but in the intimacy of human stories. “Christmas also reminds us that in order to reveal himself, God chooses a human setting,” Pope Leo said. “He does not rely on grand scenery, but on a simple home; he does not show himself from afar, but draws near; he does not remain in an inaccessible place in heaven, but comes to meet us at the very heart of our small human stories.”
The Pope praised music’s unique ability to capture personal and collective experiences. “Music accompanies our journeys, our memories and our efforts: it is a shared intimate diary that preserves each person’s feelings—nostalgia, desire, expectation, disorientation, rebirth—telling our story with simplicity and, at the same time, with depth.”
This year’s Christmas concert, the 33rd hosted by the Vatican, is scheduled for Saturday, December 13, at the auditorium on Via della Conciliazione near St. Peter’s Basilica. Proceeds from the event will support a Salesian missionary project in the Republic of the Congo, funding the construction of a primary school for 350 children. The Pope noted that authentic beauty “does not remain closed in on itself, but gives rise to responsible choices for the world.”
Expressing his hopes for the season, Pope Leo said he wished “that music might be a dwelling place for the soul—an inner space where the heart can speak, drawing us closer to God and allowing our humanity to be ever more inspired by his love.”
In a related event honoring the Pope as he approaches the first Christmas of his pontificate, Maestro Riccardo Muti conducted Luigi Cherubini’s “Mass for the Coronation of Charles X” in the Paul VI Hall. The performance featured the “Luigi Cherubini” Youth Orchestra and the “Guido Chigi Saracini” Choir of the Cathedral of Siena.
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At the conclusion of the concert, Pope Leo XIV awarded the 2025 Ratzinger Prize to the renowned conductor, recognizing his lifelong dedication to music and its dialogue with faith. “Saint Augustine calls music scientia bene modulandi, the art of guiding the heart toward God,” the Pope said. “Music is a path to understanding the dignity of the human being and confirming one’s vocation.”
The Pope highlighted Muti’s personal relationship with Pope Benedict XVI, noting their shared view of music as a space for reflection and ethical responsibility. “It appears especially fitting that the Ratzinger Prize be awarded to one who has known how to safeguard what Benedict XVI always considered the heart of art: the possibility of letting a spark of God’s presence resound through beauty,” he said.
Recalling a conversation with the late Pope Emeritus, Muti shared Benedict’s reflection on Mozart: “Between notes there is the infinite, the Mystery.” Benedict had also described Mozart as “one of the tangible expressions of God’s existence.”
The evening also addressed global educational inequities. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, noted that 61 million children lack access to primary school and 161 million to secondary education. He praised the young performers and emphasized that beauty “does not erase the darkness of the world, but illuminates it and gives us the courage to face it.”
Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, President of the Ratzinger Foundation, presented the prize, affirming Muti’s interpretations of sacred music as exemplifying the foundation’s mission to promote the relationship between faith, culture, and the human person.
The events, organized in collaboration with the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Pontifical Foundation “Gravissimum Educationis,” highlighted music’s role in fostering spiritual depth, education, and solidarity during the Christmas season.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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