Pope Francis called on musicians and artists to serve as “angels of peace” during his address to participants of the 2024 Vatican Christmas Concert on Saturday.

Speaking in the Clementine Hall, the pope emphasized the unique power of music to foster unity and communion, drawing parallels to the first Christmas.

“It is moving to think, here in the company of artists and musicians, that when Jesus was born in the silence of the night, a hymn of peace, sung by ’a multitude of the heavenly host,’ suddenly filled the heavens with joy,” the pontiff said.

The annual Christmas concert, which features both established and emerging artists, is supported by the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis — Culture for Education and the Salesian Missions.

The pope focused his remarks on two themes he called “vocal lines” — peace and hope — which he encouraged participants to “take up and make heard on the streets of today’s world, in order to pass it on to future generations.”

“Music speaks directly to the human heart in a unique way; it possesses an extraordinary ability to create unity and to foster communion,” Francis said, encouraging participants to invest their “talents, your artistry and your lives, as best you can and wherever you find yourselves, in promoting that culture of fraternity and reconciliation our world today needs more than ever.”

The pontiff particularly noted the concert’s theme of hope, connecting it to the upcoming Jubilee Year. He reminded participants that hope is “founded on faith and nurtured by charity,” quoting from the Bull of Indiction for the 2025 Jubilee.

“Friends, the world and the Church need your talents, your creative ideals, they need your generosity and your passion for justice and fraternity,” the pope concluded, requesting prayers from those present.

This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.

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