German brass bands, most of them from Bavaria, birthplace of the Pope, with over a thousand musicians, will march in procession through the streets of Rome on 20 May to celebrate the fifth centenary of the laying of the foundation stone of the new Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican and of the establishment of the Pontifical Swiss Guards. The event is being promoted by Courtial International, a foundation that sponsors the annual ‘International Festival of Sacred Music and Art’. The procession, which will set out from the Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie (at the Cipro metro station) at 4 pm, will wind its way through the Via Candia, Viale Giulio Cesare, Via Ottaviano, Piazza Risorgimento, Via Cola di Rienzo, Via Cicerone, Piazza Cavour, Castel Sant’Angelo, Via Conciliazione and arrive in St. Peter’s Square. There, facing the Apostolic Palace, the bands will perform the European anthem. On Sunday 21 May, all the bands will meet at St. Peter’s at midday for the recitation of the Regina Coeli and to receive the Pope’s blessing. It is the Foundation’s intention to turn this procession into an annual event for Rome, to be held in the spring: the procession in 2007 will be dedicated to the 80th birthday of Pope Benedict XVI.
