Oscar-winning movie soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone will direct a work he has composed in honor of Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon, sources said Tuesday.
The composition, entitled Missa Papae Francisci (Mass for Pope Francis), premieres at 6 p.m. at Rome's Chiesa del Gesù in a performance by the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta.
Morricone will conduct the 38-member orchestra and two choruses from the Accademia Santa Cecilia and the Rome Opera Theater.
Chiesa del Gesù, whose architects were Giacomo da Vignola and Giacomo della Porta, is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits, the religious order into which Pope Francis entered as a novice in 1958.
Founded by Ignatius of Loyola and approved by a papal bull issued by Pope Paul III in 1540, the Society of Jesus was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773.
The order was later restored by the Papal Bull "sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum" of Pope Pius VII on August 7, 1814, now also known as the official anniversary of the Reconstitution of the Society of Jesus.
Morricone's composition was first conceived in 2012, when the religious order approached the maestro with the request of composing the work for the occasion of what was then the upcoming 200th anniversary of the Reconstitution of the Society of Jesus in 2014.
The Italian Jesuit website Gesuiti.it said, "The maestro immediately accepted and a few months later the Mass was ready, in fact the maestro himself was able to use it in homage to the Holy Father, after whom he wanted to name it, on the occasion of the Feast of St. Ignatius in 2013".
The site also said that the performance of the Mass would be further enhanced by the technical capability of Italian state broadcaster RAI, which will film the event.
In 2007, Morricone received the Academy Honorary Award "for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music".
The Rome native has been nominated for a further five Oscars during 1979-2001 and has won three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, five BAFTAs, 10 David di Donatello, 11 Nastro d'Argento, two European Film Awards, the Golden Lion Honorary Award and the 2010 Polar Music Prize.
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