Liturgical Choir benefit raises $1,500 for archdiocesan mission school
The University of St. Thomas Liturgical Choir's concert performance of "The Pilgrim" on May 3 raised $1,500 for the music school at Jesuscristo Resucitado (Risen Christ), a parish in San Felix, Venezuela, supported as a mission of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Pastor of the parish is Father Greg Schaffer, a St. Paul native and St. Paul Seminary graduate.
The medieval liturgical music-drama's composer, Richard Proulx, was present at the performance and received an honorary doctorate from the university.
The choir's benefit concerts – given annually since 2005 – have raised $10,000. Other beneficiaries have included the Music Department of Xavier University in New Orleans, which suffered major damage from Hurricane Katrina; the Genocide Intervention Network for its Darfur relief program; and Open Arms of Minnesota, an organization that prepares and delivers free meals to people living with serious and life-threatening diseases such as HIV/AIDS, ALS and breast cancer.
