Celebrate Frank La Rocca's "Mass of the Americas" in Atlanta this July 16

The Mass of the Americas Comes to Atlanta, with Archbishop Cordileone

On the Feast of Our Lady of Carmel, July 16 at 8 pm at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone will celebrate the Atlanta premiere of the Mass of the Americas.

The Mass of the Americas was commissioned by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone from composer Frank la Rocca as a twinned tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, a “unity Mass” honoring the patroness of the United States and the patroness of Mexico and all the Americas. The Mass uses Spanish, Latin, English and Nahautl, (which is the Aztec language Our Lady spoke to St. Juan Diego). It takes classic Mexican folk hymns to Our Lady (especially La Guadalupana) and weaves them throughout music elevating them into the high sacred music tradition of the Church.

The recording of the "Mass of the Americas" released on the prestigious classical music label Cappella Records debuted at #1 on the Billboard's traditional classical music chart. Ted Libbey (one-time music critic for the New York Times) named the Mass of the Americas to his Top Ten classical music albums of 2022.

Since its first celebration in San Francisco, the Mass of the Americas has traveled to many cities including Tijuana, Houston, Trenton, NJ, Pasadena, Allentown (NJ), New York City's St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. Its celebration at the Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. went viral, generating more than 250,000 views.

Two years ago, Pope Francis called for a nine-year Novena and special events in many countries (including specifically the United States) to prepare for the 500th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2031. This special unity Mass to Our Lady is a profoundly fitting response to that call.

The Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship brings to Atlanta its premiere choir, the Schola Benedictus XVI, a 16-voice ensemble conducted by the Dallas maestro Dr. Alfred Calabrese, along with a small orchestra.

NOTE: Tickets are not required and seats are NOT reserved. But thank you for registering as it helps us plan for hospitality.

Come and pray together to Our Lady; experience the miracle of the Mass in a new way.

Praise for the Mass of the Americas.

"Perhaps the most important Catholic composition of our lifetime," Dr. Michael Olbash

“A potential classic,” Stanford Prof. William P. Mahrt, president of the Church Music Association of America.

“The best piece of liturgical music for the Mass since Durufle," Michael Linton, former First Things music critic.

And the May/June 2023 issue of Fanfare magazine raved: “La Rocca has managed to create a modern Missa Solemnis that is undeniably stirring…seamlessly blending Gregorian chant with Latin American folk melodies, organ and orchestra with marimba, guitar, and handbells, all instruments with deep roots in Mexico,” while concluding, “overall, La Rocca manages to create something that feels centered in Western musical tradition using components from cultures that have historically not been well represented in that tradition….La Rocca’s composition, and the Benedict XVI Choir and Orchestra’s performance of it, is awesome in both the modern and the ‘precise’ sense of the word. I was floored by the beauty of the music—floored, and then lifted to a different altitude of existence.”

More about the Mass of the Americas, from the National Catholic Register: https://www.ncregister.com/features/evangelizing-through-sacred-beauty

Host or Publisher Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music & Divine Worship