For 200 years, the 'Ave Maria' has lifted our spirits
National Post, 25 December 2025
Michael Bublé's recent Vatican concert was evidence of the enduring nature of the hymn
“This is really the greatest moment of my life, and of my career, right now!”
So said Michael Bublé, emotionally and extravagantly and perhaps excessively, at a concert a few weeks back at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Leo XIV. Or perhaps not excessively. Vegas fills the bank account but does not uplift the spirit.
The Canadian crooner delighted the Roman audience, drawn from the city and the world, whom he endearingly invited to sing along with the refrain to “You Were Always on My Mind,” famously covered by Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. Likely the first time that was sung at the Vatican’s vast audience hall, Bublé’s version was better.
Backed by an orchestra and enormous choir, Bublé headlined the annual “concert with the poor,” an initiative that invites some 6,000 of Rome’s poor to the Vatican for an afternoon of music and spectacle. It was the idea of the late Pope Francis, who sometimes celebrated his birthday by inviting the homeless to lunch. It is a pleasing thing that Leo has decided to continue it.
It is not a concert “for” the poor, but “with” the poor. Music is to be shared, not transferred like consumables from one to another. It’s a type of poverty not to participate in the fruits of culture. It’s a type of poverty not to have music. It’s a type of poverty not to enjoy music together, at home, or at church or in the concert hall.
Man does not live by bread alone, it has been said.
“This evening, as the melodies touched our hearts, we felt the inestimable value of music: not a luxury for the few, but a divine gift accessible to everyone, rich and poor,” said the Holy Father in his remarks at the end of the concert. “Music is like a bridge that leads us to God. It is capable of transmitting feelings, emotions, even the deepest stirrings of the soul, lifting them up and transforming them into an imaginary stairway connecting earth and heaven. Yes, music can lift our hearts!”
Pope Leo was 21 when Led Zeppelin released “Stairway to Heaven,” so perhaps he had that in mind. It’s not the gospel, but it is, more or less, about the shift from material goods to spiritual realities. Once, having heard Bob Dylan perform, St. John Paul the Great spoke of the Holy Spirit as the answer that is “blowing in the wind.” Inspiration comes whence it does.
Pope Leo made some requests for Bublé’s setlist, including the “Ave Maria,” which he sang in Franz Schubert’s most famous setting. Bublé confessed that he had never sung it live before; indeed, had only ever sung it once, in a recording studio. A Vatican concert without a hymn would be strange, so he gave it an admirable go. And if the pope asks for it, why say no?
Schubert’s setting of the “Ave Maria” marks its 200th anniversary this year, after a fashion. The music dates from then, but the ancient words came later.
In 1825, Schubert composed settings for seven songs from Walter Scott’s 1810 poem, The Lady of the Lake. One of the songs, sung by the character Ellen Douglas, actually is a prayer asking for the Virgin Mary’s intercession. Thus, “Ellen’s Third Song” begins with the words “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary).
It was not long before the simple but powerful melody was used for the actual Catholic Hail Mary prayer. Now almost nobody knows about the Scott poem or Ellen’s songs, but even those who never darken the door of a church recognize Schubert’s composition as the “Ave Maria.”
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