On September 21, 2025, on the closing day of the Catholic Social Days, the first choir meeting of the Pueri Cantores Hungarian Federation took place in Vác with the active participation of eight choirs. During the festive Holy Mass, the variable chants of the Mass were sung in such a way that the members of the three choirs seated in the sanctuary sang the invocations and verses of each movement as pre-singers, joined by the choirs seated in the nave singing the refrains and polyphonic interludes. The rest of the Mass was sung by the Cathedral Choir, conducted by Father László Varga. The clear voices of the singers enhanced the liturgy and helped to spread grace.
Photo 1: The choirs of the Piarist and Cistercian High Schools from Budapest at Holy Mass
At half past two in the afternoon, around two hundred young people held a joint church music worship service, which is the most important event of the Pueri Cantores events. In his short welcome speech, the president of the association said that singing can only be done out of love, which is the source and condition of peace between nations and people, which is why these meetings are so important.
Photo 2: Singers in the nave
The service began with a joint singing: Szilveszter Rostetter’s Peace Hymn, composed for the establishment of the Pueri Cantores Hungarian Federation, was performed by conductor Ágnes Erdélyi. This was followed by the singing of the daily vespers, with the liturgy performed by Father László Varga and the singing led by Domonkos Farkas and the Premi Cantores chamber choir from Gödöllő. The collective prayer of hundreds of singers captivated both listeners and singers alike.
Photo 3: President Szilveszter Rostetter and Spiritual Director László Varga
This was followed by individual performances by the choirs (Padányi Schola and Padányi Chamber Choir from Veszprém, conducted by Cecília Zsilinszky and Erika Hutvágner, respectively, the Buda Cistercian Girls’ Choir led by Gyöngy Rauscherné Horváth and Benjámin Rajeczky’s youth choir conducted by Attila Fábián, the Vörösmarty Student Choir of the Piarist High School in Buda, conducted by Béla Melegh, the Svetits Iniciálé Chamber Choir of Debrecen, conducted by Dorottya Suba, and the VVV Vocal Choir of Veszprém, conducted by Ágnes Erdélyi): Gregorian chants, early polyphonic pieces, Renaissance and modern religious songs. The repertoire, which featured a wide variety of styles, was not merely a festival-like showcase of the individual choirs, but each choir conveyed to the audience a creed of love for God, praying for peace, forming a united community, with sincere joy on their faces, regardless of whether they were singing Gregorian chants, medieval hymns, works by Tallis, Halmos, Bartók, Frisina, or Bánó.
Photo 4: The Vespers
Concluding the devotions, before the joint performance of Sándor Balatoni: In terra pax, Fr. László Varga, spiritual director of PCHF, reminded that today’s congress is only the beginning, a seed from which a large tree will grow, and that as a member of the international federation belonging to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, it will proclaim God’s word with ever greater force: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Sándor Balatoni’s work was conducted by Béla Melegh, with László Attila Almásy, Artisjus Award-winning organist, accompanying on the organ.
