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Father Ray Reyes, pastor, is pictured with the St. Augustine Parish adult and children’s choirs. The ensemble will be in Rome in March to sing for the Festival of Peace and Brotherhood. The choirs include 35 adults and 25 children. Sites where the group will lead song include St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and St. Anthony of Padua Basilica in Padua. A choir member called the trip “an experience of a lifetime.” (Courtesy photo)
February 28, 2019
Tom Burke
Choir members from St. Augustine Parish, South San Francisco, will soon board planes for Rome to participate in the Rome Festival of Peace and Brotherhood. The ensemble includes 35 adults and 25 children. An additional 75 parishioners will also make the trip as chaperones and tourists. The choirs will sing at up to eight churches in and around Rome March 21-25. Two certain stops where they will lead song are St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and St. Anthony of Padua Basilica in Padua.
“The festival concerts will take place in breathtaking venues throughout the cities and towns of the areas surrounding the southeast of Rome,” Vivian Ramos, a member of the choir for eight years and a St. Augustine parishioner for almost 20, told Catholic San Francisco. “The main highlight of the trip is St. Peter’s Basilica, where our very own St. Augustine ensemble will be singing at a holy Mass, making this truly an experience of a lifetime.”
Ramos said the festival goals align with parish values to spread brotherhood and sisterhood and peace. “In today’s divided world, our efforts to share our love and to share Jesus beyond St. Augustine community, beyond the San Francisco Bay Area and now extend it to the world makes it even more special,” she said. “We are beyond grateful.”
Choir members are mostly Filipino with “a deep sense of representing the Filipino community and our ancestry,” Ramos said. “We are simply dedicated to praising and glorifying God. We want to share God’s love through our voices and engage worshippers at Mass and the community through our music wherever we are needed.”
Expenses for the trip were covered by choir members and others traveling with them. A special fundraising and send-off concert for the group March 2 will cover sundry expenses including ground travel vehicles and special wardrobe.
The St. Augustine Children’s Choir and Chancel Choir sing with the Festival of Peace and Brotherhood in Rome March 21-25. Catch them live for a preview of their performance on March 2, 7:30 p.m., St. Augustine Church. Concert ticket price is $20. For ticket sales, contact Patricia Chan patriciacchan@yahoo.com, (650) 291-5321; Cleo Cruz sacc.ssf@gmail.com, (650) 278-1638. VIP $500 donation includes two tickets, $1,000 donation includes four tickets. Visit https://goo.gl/HNxGU3.