The Argentine writer and businessman organized a musical gathering at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, where he promoted a mass hug for peace as part of the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death
Argentine businessman and philanthropist Alejandro G. Roemmers brought together a sixty-piece orchestra and a choir in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, Italy, last Sunday. The event marked a milestone in the lead-up to the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, a central figure of Franciscan spirituality.
The Santa Cecilia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nazareno Andorno, performed a concert in the main square of this historic architectural complex. The Basilica, whose construction was ordered by Pope Saint Pius V in 1569, houses the Porziuncola, the church restored by Francis himself where the Order of Friars Minor was born in 1209, and the Chapel of the Transitus, where the saint died on the night of October 3, 1226.
During the performance, the ensemble played the musical pieces “Canticle of the Creatures” and “All Brothers,” works composed by Roemmers in collaboration with conductor Nazareno Andorno. The orchestra featured violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, harps, timpani, and tubular bells. During the gathering, Roemmers invited the audience to take part in a fraternal hug. This gesture was part of his initiative called “A Hug for Humanity”, a project that seeks to restore human contact and encounters between people beyond nationalities, beliefs, or cultures.
The Pontifical University Antonianum honored Roemmers with the Saint Francis Award. The institution recognized his international humanistic work, his commitment to spiritual values, and his way of conducting himself. The Argentine businessman, who is also a poet and novelist, organized the event as an open invitation to both believers and those who do not profess any religion. The gathering aimed to bring together classical music and a message of universal peace at the very place where Saint Francis spent the last years of his life.
Sanctuary officials emphasize that the Basilica plays a vital role as a center of pilgrimage and spiritual memory. In 2026, the site will hold a central place in the global celebrations of the anniversary, and the concert in Assisi served as a prelude to these commemorative dates.
