The music band was in the country of Genghis Khan between late November and early December at the invitation of Cardinal Marengo, who leads the small and young local Catholic Church. A programme with a twofold objective under the banner of evangelisation through music.
There are no impossible missions for Gen Rosso. The history of their tours confirms this. But, of course, the one they experienced between late November and early December must be counted as a bit special. 9,000 kilometres away from Loppiano, temperatures of up to 28° below zero, first time in a symbolic place squeezed between Russia and China. The invitation came from the Consolata missionary Giorgio Marengo, created cardinal two years ago by Pope Francis asurelyt only 48, who leads the young and lively Catholic Church in Mongolia. It is the 64th nation visited by the Focolare band. ‘A young Church, made up of young people,’ had been the cardinal’s thought, ‘needs a “young” language to speak to the people’ The fact that Marengo had known Gen Rosso songs as a boy surely influenced his decision to invite them.
In September 2023, Pope Francis visited Mongolia and, one year later, the cardinal wanted a second opportunity to evangelise a people with a nomadic culture. Thus, a project with a twofold objective was agreed with the band. The first concerned the small Christian community, with its 1,500 baptised people out of a population of 3.5 million. Two sung Masses and a vigil of hope and peace in the cathedral of the capital Ulan Bator reinvigorated the faith of the believers. The other purpose included reaching beyond the local church. The concert on 1 December in one of the capital’s main theatres (a technological jewel) was held in front of 850 spectators, mostly Buddhists, followers of Shamanism, Islam and other faiths, everything was taken care of, from the projected lyrics of the songs translated into Mongolian to the verse and refrain of ‘Sow Peace’ in the local language, which surprised and delighted those present.
The musical event was preceded by a two-day Gen Rosso workshop with 125 middle and high school students who also arrived from various cities around the country. Almost all of the children belonged to other religions. “The aim was to foster cultural exchange and unity among the young people preparing them artistically for a high-level performance at the concert,” Manuele Chirco, the band’s musical director, explained. As is the band’s custom, the concerts are preceded and followed by meetings with various social realities. In Mongolia, they visited a state-run orphanage, involving the 33 residents in dancing. Equally touching was the lunch with a group of homeless people at the shelter, which provides meals for more than 80 people. There was also a meeting with a well-known Mongolian music group, with whom a first collaboration was initiated.
“Our desire,” emphasises Chirco, “is always to create and promote a culture of peace and fraternity, founded on the universal values of sharing and tolerance, which are always welcome and create authentic relationships.” The band, composed for the occasion of 12 people (five singers, four musicians and three technicians), was officially received at the Italian Embassy in Mongolia by Ambassador Giovanna Piccarreta, who congratulated Gen Rosso on its presence in Ulan Bator, as Italy’s representative, because the international ensemble is based in Italy. The programme for the trip was prepared by a dozen or so of the cardinal’s young collaborators, who had thoughtfully arranged for the musical group to be accommodated in the same place where Pope Bergoglio was staying. Not, however, in the room where the pontiff slept. It is no longer accessible.
The next Gen Rosso event will be in Loppiano on Saturday 28 December, at 21.00, at the Auditorium to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the birth of the little town. “It will be an event that recalls and retraces the link between Gen Rosso and Loppiano – explain the band members – After all, if there had been no little town, there would have been no Gen Rosso either, who started in 1966. The concert will also contain songs taken from the band’s history, but with new arrangements and new interpretations. The evening will also feature visual contributions to highlight the relationship between the band and the little town. A number of guests, invited for the occasion, will also perform. Missing the concert seems a mission impossible.