Vatican City, 04 February, 2021 / 2:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis praised musicians on Thursday for showing “new creativity” despite severe restrictions imposed on their work by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a Feb. 4 video message to participants in an online conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture, he also sympathized with artists whose livelihoods are threatened by the virus.
“We know ... that since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, activity in the musical field has been greatly reduced,” he said in the message, delivered in Italian.
“My thoughts are with all those who have been affected: the musicians who have seen their lives and professions disrupted by the demands of distancing; those who have lost their jobs and social contact; those who have had to face, in difficult contexts, the necessary moments of training, education and community life.”
“Many have dedicated significant efforts to continue to offer a musical service endowed with new creativity.”