The New York Archdiocesan Festival Chorale is busy practicing for its coming performance for Pope Francis in New York.
The choir, whose members range in age from 13 to 90, usually sings at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, but recently practiced at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. The choir's music director, Jennifer Pascual, frequently stopped the singers when she felt that their voices weren't pitch perfect.
Choir member Christina Piazza, who is from Ossining, said she feels honored that she will sing for the pope. "I feel very, very excited, of course," she said. "You get a chance to meet the Holy Father and to sing at Mass with the Holy Father."
Barbara Torina, of New Rochelle, has sung with the choir for more than 25 years, and the performance for Pope Francis will be the third time that she has sung during a papal visit.
Pope Francis' Madison Square Garden Mass, which will be his last event in New York before he heads to Philadelphia, is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 25.