Fr. Timothy Pelc, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Grosse Pointe Park, bumped into the student choir from Grosse Pointe South High School on Feb. 20 — in Rome.
The priest, who happened to be visiting the Vatican, was surprised to discover on his trip that the local high school had been invited to sing during Mass that night at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Fr. Pelc wrote in his parish bulletin that he surprised the group of 95 students by concelebrating Mass that evening at the basilica, where he introduced the choir “to the assembly of pilgrims from all over the world.”
The students, who were participating in a one-week exchange program inItaly, were invited to return to the Vatican after a performance at St. Peter’s in 2004.
Fr. Pelc wrote in his bulletin that the choir “received lavish praise from the Basilica’s clergy for their mastery of Renaissance polyphony — high compliments coming from those who live with great singing from choirs across the world every weekend!”
