Angelicofest Keynote 2026

One of my favorite stories or parables about sacred art is set in medieval France, in the early 1200s. The story goes that a young farmer was exiting his small but booming little town after buying some things for his family at the market, when he saw a construction site 30 yards ahead. 

Approaching the area more closely, he saw a man bent over beside a large stack of bricks, mortar, and construction tools. With curiosity he said, “Excuse me sir, what are you doing here.” The man turned around and sneered, “What am I doing? I’m laying bricks! What does it look like, genius?” And then he returned to the bricks, muttering to himself in anger.

The farmer was surprised and a little stirred, but continued his way down this large, empty plot of land, scattered with tools and bricks. There weren’t many other people around but passing the far end of the site three minutes later, he saw another man beside a stack of bricks and tools like the first man, but something was different about him. This man was animated. Moving about with purpose, and excitement. Despite the dirty look of his face and the sweat upon his clothes from a hard day’s work, he radiated joy. 

Trying again, the farmer approached this second man and asked, excuse me sir, “what are you doing here?” The worker turned to the farmer as if he had waited all day for someone to ask that very question, and looking up toward the heavens he said, “I’m building the largest cathedral in all of France.” 

What difference a little perspective can make? Sure enough, near the end of that century, there stood–pardon my French–Amiens Cathedral, more than double the size of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, towering above the city as a constant, beautiful reminder of Heaven, and of the Lord watching over everyone with care.

We all know what it’s like to see a beautiful cathedral in stone and brick–or as Bishop Robert Barron refers to them in his documentary hitting theaters tomorrow–models of Heaven in stone and glass….but what would it mean to create a cathedral in sound?

The concept is not entirely new. The term Cathedral in Sound was first famously used to describe Beethoven’s 1824 Missa Solemnis–one of his greatest works. And as Angelico’s mission has continued to grow and evolve, this same analogy has been stirring in my mind–the elegant, captivating idea of a Cathedral in Sound, and also, how we can perfect that idea, and create something that, just maybe, through prayer, is even more worthy of that title than Beethoven’s masterpiece.

As you’ve heard and read, Angelico’s mission is to unite American Catholics in creating a patrimony of sacred musical art that is rooted in the classical polyphonic tradition. We’ve been doing that for two years, and we could continue simply doing that–going to this university and that one, recording some new music each year, etc….. but sitting with this and praying about the long-term vision for Angelico I felt the Lord moving us toward a vision that was more concrete. Something more tangible and clear. Something easier to conceptualize and understand, and also something grander….and over this past year praying with the idea and discussing it with some respected colleagues, one particular model for this has come to the fore.

So….once again Angelico’s mission is to unite American Catholics in creating a patrimony of sacred musical art. As of tonight, the principal object of that mission, will now be to create an American Cathedral in Sound. 

As the name suggests, this will be a very unique project of grand proportion. The Cathedral in Sound will be a collection of 76 polyphonic compositions–a nod to our nation’s founding in 1776–from multiple American composers, that will be carefully crafted with the most beautiful music possible, over the course of two to three decades. 

As we build this patrimony of musical art, the analogy of a Cathedral in Sound is particularly fitting for three key reasons.

1. Building a cathedral requires numerous people working together, including architects, construction workers, patrons, and more. Similarly, Angelico’s Cathedral in Sound will unite American Catholics from a broad range of backgrounds and areas of expertise in creating sacred musical art that uniquely represents the beautiful faith found in 21st-century America.

2. A cathedral’s art has continuity. The stained glass windows in a gothic cathedral clearly belong together. Similarly, our musical art for the Cathedral in Sound will share elements of compositional continuity that bind them together–they will all be pieces of what we call American Neo-Renaissance Polyphony–and with this continuity, it will be evident to listeners that they belong together in the same cathedral. 

3. A cathedral is something that lasts. This element of long-term impact is very important. It’s a central reason why–distinct from all other sacred music groups, Angelico is focused on creating polyphonic compositions like what you've heard tonight. Because in the discipline of classical music, compositions are what last. 

Let me share an example to demonstrate this: If I asked you who the best opera singers of the late 18th century were...would you know? How about the best string quartet? Or the most famous full-time conductor? Almost certainly not. 

But if I asked you who were the best composers of the era: then we have Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven–that’s what people remember. That is what–like a cathedral–stands the test of time. And that’s why Angelico focuses on composing–not so the composers can be famous–on the contrary, if you look Angelico up on Spotify, you’ll see I completely omitted my name from our profile. Because the Cathedral in Sound will not be about what my composer friends and I are building–it's about what the 21st-century Church in America is building. It’s about what we are building. Together.

Which brings us straight back to principle number one for the Cathedral in Sound. 1. Numerous people working together. 2. Beautiful art with stylistic continuity. 3. Building something that lasts. 

That’s the vision for our Cathedral, which I’m very excited about, but the excitement doesn’t stop there. In a big step to move this project forward and to concretize the Cathedral in Sound, in 2027 we will be launching an audition process for the Angelico Chamber Schola. Tapping our growing list of contacts at Catholic colleges and Newman Centers across the nation, the Angelico Chamber Schola will be a collegiate all-star choir, brought together to record our first full album, entitled Cathedral in Sound Vol. 1. This will put all our pieces on Spotify, Apple Music and more with studio-quality recordings, while also advancing Angelico’s higher-education interests, investing in the next generation of American choir directors, who will be bringing renewal into the daily lives of parishes across the nation.

Additionally, creating the Angelico Chamber Schola will allow us to get a very broad array of materials for audio, video, interviews and more to promote the Cathedral in Sound–allowing our musical art, the work behind the scenes, and the grand, long-term vision for this project to be shared online in beautiful, captivating detail to bring others from across the nation together with us for this grand project.

So putting these details together, we have a clear vision for what we’re building, and for how we’re building it, but that still leaves the most important question of any project: why? Why does this matter? Why is this Cathedral in Sound necessary?

And there are so so many ways to answer that. I could talk about why Angelico’s style of polyphonic music, of which this Cathedral will be built, is completely unique, filling a large and crucial gap in the sacred music landscape. I could detail how we will be bringing sacred choral music into mainstream culture within the Church to make it meaningful for everyone, not just trained musicians. I could explain the incalculable value of this project’s clear, long-term, action plan for renewing sacred music, such that it’s no longer just an ornament for church on Sunday, but a captivating beauty that touches the other 99% of our lives as well. 

And yet none of that would touch the greatest Why, which contains all the rest of them. 

One of my favorite lines in the Bible is John 2:5. It comes from the Wedding at Cana, and it’s just one sentence. “Jesus’s Mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” Likewise today, our Heavenly Mother says to us, do whatever he tells you. And within the domain of sacred music, I believe he’s telling us something analogous to what he told St. Francis almost a thousand years ago. 

Many of you have heard the story of how Jesus spoke to St. Francis from the crucifix at San Damiano in Italy, saying to him, “Rebuild my Church.” And today he speaks to the Church in America, saying, “Beatify my Church.” Bring. Beauty. Back. Bring back what our wonderful tradition has preserved, but also, while adding something new. Because for as long as we still live our lives down here on earth, the canon of sacred music and art remains open. It remains unfinished. And team 21st-century, and team USA have something important to add, which brings me to my final point: the subject of vocation. Communal vocation.

Usually the word vocation is associated with things like priesthood, or married life, or the gifts and charisms you have as an individual. Rightly so. But here’s what we need to remember: vocation is not merely a means for individual fulfillment and expression: it’s about how the pieces complement each other. How the different members of the Mystical Body of Christ, how the different members of the Church work together. And accordingly, when we look at the history of the Church, we see that vocation can bear a communal dimension as well. 

Within the realm of sacred art, we observe a communal vocation from the French of the late middle ages, whose innovations in engineering and architecture allowed light to literally shine into their beautiful churches through giant stained glass windows in ways never previously imagined. In the Renaissance era, the Italians took the lead, as a voluminous number of artists, including Blessed Fra Angelico, created paintings and sculptures with masterful qualities of dimension and detail never seen before. 

And likewise, it’s now time for a chapter of creative renewal with sacred music. And as many of you have heard me say before, in the year 2026, there is no nation with the population, the education, the resources, and the faith that we have in America, to take the lead. And that’s what Angelico’s Cathedral in Sound will be created to do—so that afterward, when we look back on history, people from every land and every era will look upon the 21st century and say, “that is when the Americans created their beautiful music, that brought Heaven down to earth.”

Angelico is taking a stand for musical art, a stand for hope, and a stand for beauty. We insist that the Church's best days of beauty do not all lie in the past; rather, sacred music is, and always has been, a living art, and Angelico is uniting American Catholics to lead the way and renew sacred music in the life of the Church today, through the creation of this Cathedral in Sound.

Lastly, to contextualize our communal vocation of the Church in America today, I’d like to use one more Marian analogy: that of the Annunciation. Because it’s here that Mother Mary provides the perfect model of what vocational response should look like. 

First, Mary realizes her vocation as the Mother of God to be a gift. A radically unearned gift. For she says in the Magnificat that she proclaims the greatness of the Lord and rejoices, quote: “because he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” Humility. Gratitude. That’s where she started, and that’s where we need to start. 

Our spirit here is not one of prideful patriotism, but of a purified patriotism. We recognize that our nation is a gift from God, that we are immensely blessed, and that to he who much is given, much is expected.

Second, when the angel Gabriel proclaims that she will be the Mother of the Savior, she asks “how can this be,” but she asks the way a saint would ask. She hears the angel’s announcement, and she responds with logical uncertainty, yet with perfect faith. She provides the perfect image for all of us in our own moments of uncertainty, looking at the great challenge and mystery before her, as she essentially says, “Lord, I don’t completely understand how this is going to work, but I do completely trust you. Show me the way.” 

And so…. as we commence the construction of this Cathedral, let us remember the passionate French laborer, so that like him, each of our contributions to this historic project may kindle in our hearts a spirit of faith-filled hope, and of joyful anticipation for the lasting monument of heavenly beauty we are creating together. And as we proceed with the conception of this artist project, let us turn to our Heavenly Mother, that her perfect response to the conception of the Son of God may provide a vocational model for us in all things, as she stands ready to guide us from her Throne above.

Join us in Building the Cathedral in Sound