On Saturday, October 20, 2012 the Chapelle Saint-Patrick Choir participated in a special concert as part of the World Missionary Week in Paris.
On September 28 our chaplain Fr Sean Maher informed us that we had been invited by Mgr Xavier Rambaud, who is in charge of priests, students and foreigners in the Archdiocese of Paris, to participate in a “Concert de Chorales des Missions et Aumôneries des Migrants” in the Saint-Philippe du Roule Church in the 8th arrondissement.
The concert was rich in music, language and traditions with groups from a wide variety of countries and missions: Anglophone (Saint Joseph’s), Croatia, Irish, Italy, Haiti, Hispanic, Hungary, Latino, Madagascar, and the Philippines.
Our Choir performed three pieces:
“Ag Críost an Síol” – a traditional Irish hymn sung in Irish
“The Deer’s Cry” (also known as “St Patrick’s Breastplate”) sung by Lena Hennessy accompanied by Grainne Hawkes and John Devlin.
Christ be our Light
“It was a great honour to be asked to sing at this concert,” says Fr Sean. “It was the culmination of a special week of conferences and activities for the Semaine Missionnaire Mondiale. Our choir sings at Mass on Sundays and special events during the year, like Saint Patrick’s Day Mass or the Advent Carols. This was the first time we have been asked to participate in a big concert like this. We were able to quickly decide what we would sing and had a couple of practices after Sunday Mass. We had a final practice at Saint Joseph’s which is within walking distance of Saint-Philippe du Roule. I am proud to say that our three choices were very well received and we represented the Irish Community with pride.”
Many thanks to the Chapelle Saint-Patrick Choir and to Nick Tyson for playing the organ; and to Fr Aidan Troy for allowing us to use Saint Joseph’s for our practice.
You can find out more details about each of the chaplaincies and missions by visiting the Archdiocese of Paris website