Pope Leo XIV Inspires a Rebirth of Gregorian Chant

by Maggie Gallagher

This article is reprinted from the 18 August 2025 online issue of The Catholic Thing, with the kind permission of Editor in Chief, Robert Royal, and the author.

Leo XIV has done much in the first few months of his papacy to dispel damaging misconceptions about Gregorian chant rooted in ignorance of what Vatican II actually taught.

When he stood on the loggia of Saint Peter's in his very first public appearance, like a good Augustinian friar, he chanted the Regina cæli, along with 100,000 people gathered from the four corners of the earth, speaking as many different languages as at the Tower of Babel. Yet together they could spontaneously sing the ancient hymn — in Latin — at that historic moment, showing the value of recovering Latin as the common language of the Catholic Church.

And then, to make the commitment to renewing respect for Gregorian chant clear, the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. in conjunction with the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, almost immediately launched a social media course Let's Sing with the Pope. The social media videos teach the next generation of Catholics how to chant parts of the Mass in Latin: the Pater noster, the Mysterium fidei, the Agnus Dei, Kyrie, and Sanctus. "People wanted to join in," the Institute's president, Fr. Robert Mehlhart, told the National Catholic Register in May. "And I thought, 'Well, I can help them. Let's pull off this project, and let's have people sing with the pope.'"

Mary Ann Carr Wilson is on a similar mission: to set the souls of young Catholics on fire by teaching them how to chant the Mass. Over the last 15 years, she's formalized her children's chant camps and workshops under the umbrella of Canticle.org.

Around 5000 young souls have learned to chant with her and, in the process, learned the prayers of the Mass, most often in Latin. She's also worked with more than 100 music directors and music teachers, training others in how to teach kids to chant. The demand is growing exponentially. "There's more interest than ever. I'm not able to respond to all the requests."

Archbishop Salvadore J. Cordileone of San Francisco says such children's chant camps are more than just a fun summer activity: They're a powerful way to evangelize the next generation of Catholics. "Children and young people are fascinated by the traditions of the Church. I'm not surprised that children's chant camps are a growing phenomenon, and I'm very pleased. When we offer children only childish music, they grow out of it quickly. Gregorian chant helps sustain their faith through the years."

Children as young as seven or eight can master chant beautifully, he points out. And even more importantly, in children's chant camps, young people are singing the Mass, not just singing at Mass.

Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Earl K. Fernandes has remarked:

I think it's wonderful to expose children to the tradition of the Church and sacred music. In the diocese of Columbus in many of our parishes and schools we already have children's choirs, some of which sing sacred music. We are part of a grant project at the Catholic University of America called Welcoming Children in Worship, which allows teachers and students to have access to a large number of resources in sacred music. Young people may not have much money to give to the church, but we need to create opportunities for them to use their talents for God's glory.

This summer, Archbishop Cordileone brought a children's chant camp to Saint Patrick Seminary through the Catholic Institute for Sacred Music, led by Saint Patrick's sacred music professor, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka. Singers ages eight to seventeen came together to sing at daily Mass, learn vocal technique, and read chant notation to develop a deeper understanding of what the Mass is, and exercise opportunities for fellowship, personal prayer, and Confession.

But this summer's chant camp is just the launchpad of an ambitious new youth chorister program, a plan for liturgical renewal that will help build a culture of Gregorian chant and active participation in the Mass for thousands of next-gen Catholics throughout the Bay Area and beyond.

"We decided to give an invigorating kickoff, through the chant camp, to our full student chorister program, which will begin this fall here at Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park," said Prof. Christopher Berry, the renowned organist who is Saint Patrick's organ teacher and also director of the new Chorister program. "Their training is inspired by the cathedral chorister programs in England, France, Germany, and closer to home, in Canada and Salt Lake City. The richness of these programs feeds the spiritual lives of parishioners and visitors to these churches, and integrally forms the whole person of the choristers in goodness, truth, and beauty."

"We are on a mission to help Catholics everywhere encounter God through the beauty of the sacred music that belongs to them as a birthright, especially Gregorian chant," Dr. Donelson-Nowicka says. "Like the great chant educator of the 20th century, Mrs. Justine Ward, we believe in empowering all to sing so that they can find their voices in the participation in the Divine mysteries celebrated in the sacred liturgy. When we teach children rich music from the beginning, we set them up for a spiritually rich life as a mature Catholic."

Thanks in part to Pope Leo XIV, those like Mary Ann Carr Wilson, who have planted seeds for many years, will likely see a new harvest from their work. "I keep doing it because God is so good, he deserves to be praised," she said. "We have this beautiful music as Catholics … built in the time-tested way of connecting to God in these prayers and then coming together as a community in the Mass."

In an age of constant distraction, these chant camps offer a vital space for young people to "slow down, remember what's important, and do things together in real time. Making beautiful things together in real time for God."

Article written 18 August 2025

Maggie Gallagher is the executive director of the Benedict XVI Institute, founded by Archbishop Cordileone to promote more beautiful and reverent liturgy.