From Pittsburgh to the Vatican is made possible by funding from the Donoghue Family Foundation.

Daniel H. Shapiro, Laird E Smith, Ronald L Violi, Easley and Rivers, and the Peter C. Dozzi Family Foundation.

WQED and our viewers appreciate your support.

It looks like the city filled up with people from the United States, especially from Pittsburgh for this concert event that we're having here.

What a city this is.

You all have your tickets all ready?

To have a chance to play in her under these circumstances is... Amazing.

It's going to be a great moment.

I want to play so beautifully for him.

Being able to represent America.

I hope he says he likes it.

You are watching history.

Unfolding inside this auditorium.

For the first time ever, the Vatican has invite an American orchestra to perform for the Pope.

The Pittsburgh Symphony's interfaith concert has drawn people of many religious backgrounds from all over the world.

Many have made this trip from Pittsburgh.

Yet this groundbreaking concert is not the only unique or fascinating connection between Pittsburgh and Vatican City.

All people from Rome come to see.

A million tourists visit this crèche in Saint Peter's Square every holiday season.

Yet few people know the Vatican has authorized only one replica here in the city of Pittsburgh.

It stands in the middle of downtown, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Just like the crèche at the Vatican.

Going down to the Washingtons landing... These two seminarians are far from home.

I think I miss the people in Pittsburgh, really.

But far from alon when it comes to hometown ties.

Oh, I do miss Pittsburgh.

Especially the Penguin games I was a big Penguin fan, so... Pittsburgh has long been a powerful force at the Vatican, well represented by seminarians studying in Rome.

There is a connection between Pittsburgh and the Vatican that I don't think we understand yet.

For this man, the connection are both physical and spiritual.

Lou Astorino is an architect from Pittsburgh, the first American in history to design a Vatican building.

It's a chapel where cardinals will gather to pray when it comes time to choose a new pope.

It is understandably closed to the public.

No television camera have ever been inside until now.

It's not coincidenc that these things are happening in my opinion.

The Chapel of the Holy Spirit, designed by a Pittsburgher, and considered one o the Vatican's most holy places.

I don't know the answer.

I don't know why, but I have the faith to know that there's a reason.

A reaso for the interfaith connections.

The special bonds and sacred gifts from Pittsburgh to the Vatican.

What you are seeing here at the Vatican has never happened before.

Until now, only a select few have ever seen this place, and there has never been a television camera inside.

But on this day, these people of many faiths have been invited into the Vatican's Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

They are from Pittsburgh and celebrating the mass.

Bishop Donald Wuerl of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, alon with other members of the clergy who have ties to the Pittsburgh region.

Many, many of us are peopl with the Pittsburgh connection.

This seems to be a very fitting place for us to come together for many reasons.

The Chapel of the Holy Spirit, where cardinals will meet in private before making a decisio that will have worldwide impact.

This chapel was designed specifically in mind the thought that the Cardinals who would elect a pope would gather here in prayer before going into conclave.

Bless and approve our offering.

Make it acceptable to you and offering in spirit.

The guests this day in this chapel know they are in one of the most important and sacred places on Vatican property.

This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world... They know it was designed by a man from Pittsburgh.

He is here today and he's sitting i no special place of prominence.

It was my first mass in the chapel.

Architect Lou Astorino is genuinely humbled by his role in all of this.

And it was a very, very movin experience for me, particularly as I know it was for my wife.

As the mass ends, a group of clearly impressed Pittsburghers linger for a while.

They want to captur their final images of this place and of this man who designed it.

It's likel they will never be here again.

Unbelievable.

Thank you.

They all came up and commented, “What a humbling experience and beautiful experience it was to be in the chapel and to have been designed by Pittsburgher.” It was just overwhelming to most of them as it is to me.

So, how did this man from Pittsburgh's working class Brookline neighborhood end up here?

Essentially, in the history books, alongside names like Bernini, Michelangelo and other Vatican masters?

I think about it often.

And I don't know why.

I'm sorry.

It's tough.

It's, uh... Excuse me.

It is.

Certainly.

I can't be the most talented architect.

Well, certainly we've not done a lot of churches.

It's my first.

I am deeply religious, no doubt.

But you know why- why someone from Pittsburgh?

Why?

I don't know.

I just don't know.

This is Astorino headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh.

Lou Astorino founded this architecture, engineering and design firm in 1972.

It is now 180 employees strong.

Hey, guys.

Hey Lou.

And, Astorinos resume is strong He designed PNC Park for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the PNC First Side Center office building, the TriMont condominiums atop Mount Washington.

Astorino supervised the historic renovation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.

And overseas, he designed a European transplant hospital for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Palermo, Italy.

This is the stone that they want to take out.

You know, architects need to - you know, we like our buildings to look good, but we also like them to work.

They have to function.

And when they do both of those things, you're happy.

So it's no wonder Astorinos reputation led him to the Vatican.

In 1993, he was hired as a consulting architect on a hote called the Dome of Sancta Marta, a place for clergy to stay while visiting the Vatican.

But Astorino would meet with a bitter disappointment.

His hotel plan was rejected.

I felt that the concept that we had for the Dome of Santa Marta had been given to me as an inspiration by God.

And that when, when it was all said and done, that this idea wasn't accepted that I had let God down, you know, and, I was terribly depressed.

And I felt you know, God, myself, everybody what an opportunit we had to work in the Vatican.

And I, I didn't pull it off.

But a few days later, Astorinos life took what he calls a divine turn when the president of the Vatican, Cardinal Castillio Lara, called him back to Rome.

And he said, there was this giant piece of property that's adjacent to the hotel that we'd like to construct a chapel on.

Would you be interested in being the architect for the chapel?

My heart swelled up and I said... First thing I thought was how can you be so dumb?

You know, where was your faith?

This is what you were supposed to do in the first place.

Would you rather do a hotel in the Vatican?

Or would you rather do a chapel?

And the old expression, you know, God closes a door and opens a window.

It's exactly what he was doing.

Astorino would learn of the chapel's importance, how cardinals would use i as a place to pray and reflect before going to the Sistine Chapel to elect a pope.

His first question to Cardinal Lara: What do you think thi this chapel ought to look like?

What is your opinion of what the end product should be?

And he said, I think it should be a a chapel that reflects today's thinking.

The look of the chapel would be only one of many challenges.

It had to be built on a small triangular piece of land wedged between the dome of Sancta Marta, the Vatican's Hotel for visitors, and the ancient Leonine Wall, which surrounds Vatican City.

This is the dome of Santa Marta.

This is the Leonine Wall.

The triangle, some architect would find to be a constraint, Astorino saw as an inspiration.

As we looked at the site without the chapel on it, you could see that it's triangular.

And of course, a triangle is a symbol for the Trinity the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.

So literally and figuratively, this chapel grows from the Holy Spirit.

The chapel would also grow with the help of some of the finest craftspeople in Rome.

As this thing took shape, and they were bringing artisans out of retirement to do it, because it was a comple project, working on a triangle.

They brought a retired roofer out - because roof is copper and it's bent and it's odd angles, and the geometry is such that it's a very difficult job - Brought him out of retirement to do the roof.

But you could see the pride in their eyes, all of them, as it started taking shape.

When the chapel of the Holy Spirit was finished in 1996, Cardinal Lara, who chose Astorino for the project, remembered a conversation they had years earlier.

And when he dedicated it with Jean and I, he said, “Doctor Astorino” - they call, they call architects, doctors... “Doctor Astorino,” h said, “I asked you for a chapel that reflected today's thinking.

You gave us a chapel that reflects yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” I was very humbled by that.

And humbled as well by this photograph of Pope John Paul the Second praying in the chapel.

I met him when construction was just beginning in the chapel and I was introduced.

Jean and I, my wife and I were introduce to him as the architect of the of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

And he said, “I understand it' going to be a beautiful chapel.” And I said, I certainly hope so, Your Holiness.

To know that the Pope, one of the most influential popes, mayb the most influential pope ever prayed in this chapel, says a lot to me.

Because the chapel is visited by only the most prominent at the Vatican, and because of its location, deep behind Vatican walls, where security is tight, the chapel is closed to the public and of course, to the media.

How is it we got in to show you?

Because after months of planning and cutting through bureaucratic red tape, the Vatican agreed that a Pittsburgh audience should be the first to see the chapel built by a man from Pittsburgh.

From the outside, you can see the architect's challenge.

One wall is just a few fee from the historic Leonine Wall.

But it doesn't really touch it.

It just kisses it.

The other wall adjacent to the Vatican's modern hotel residence.

The chapel itself fills the span between old and new.

The private courtyar outside is adorned with flowers and plants year round, and going beyond the chapel doors overwhelms first time visitors.

The materials that we chose were the more traditional materials of the Vatican.

They were travertine, marble, copper, masonry... stained glass, mahogany, all rich traditional materials are executed somewhat differently to reflect the chapel of today's thinking.

The thinking being an emotional chapel that, elicits an emotional response when you're in it.

The space is organized in a different sense than it would have been organized 500 years ago.

It's organized in a sense of what we know today about mathematics and science and the universe.

And architecture.

It reflect today's thinking in that sense.

Visitors are immediately drawn to the focal point of the chapel.

The crucifix itself came from the Vatican.

In their archives.

And I picked this one largely for the the scale of it.

And the beautiful sculpture of Christ was just it was very realistic and, and I thought it wa it would be absolutely perfect in the chapel and it is.

The crucifix is silhouetted by the rays of a window that is exactly the same siz as the the wood on the crucifix.

You don't see the window.

What you see are the rays coming from, from the wood of the crucifix.

And you can see the beauty of the ceiling, how it just moves and steps back.

The ceiling, of course, is all triangular.

That plays off the reflection of the floor and the theme of the Trinity.

Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Because the ceiling i so luminous, it feels almost as if it's open to the sky.

See, it's so light and airy.

You can see the three legs grow from the three triangles into a simple slab.

It's made of marble - the same marble as the floor.

It's called Bianco Statutalio which is a statued marble.

It's pure white.

Behind the altar there's a soaring triangular arch with a gold leaf inscription in Latin.

Veni Sancte Spiritus repele tvorum corda fidelium.

Come, Holy Spirit, renew the hearts of thy faithful.

It was somewhat coincidental as we were working back in this triangular section of behin the altar, the pattern emerged and it emerge so that we could have one large white triangle surrounded by 12 white and yellow triangles, For a total of 12 apostles surrounding this large white triangle representing Christ.

The interesting thing here is this, this crucifix comes down and penetrates.

There is only one tile that is broken and it happens to be broken by the crucifix.

We call that tile the Judas tile.

Christ's apostle Judas is the one that betrayed him.

Symbolically, we represented that in the floor.

One whole wall of this chapel is glass, and it was deliberately designed that way to look out on to one of the ancient walls that surrounded the Vatican, the Leonine Wall.

And it says to me, there is an enormously long history to the Church.

The wall is an ancient wall.

It was built over 600 years ago, and it separated Rome from the from the Vatica and protected the Vatican from, from intrusion.

And, once it was uncovered, because of its historic nature, we knew that it was- it was in fact a treasure to make sure that we respected and made part of our chapel.

The challenge was we wanted to incorporate the wall, but how can we physicall put it inside the chapel without destroying its integrity?

If we were going to attach to it, we'd have to destroy the integrity of the wall by trying to do some flashing and connecting to it.

And then we didn't know what the, what condition the wall was in.

If it would rain, would it actually be porous enough that water would come into the church?

So there's some practical considerations we had to have.

Here we're looking at the stations of the cross which are outside, they're bronze.

They're done by a very famous Italian sculptor by the name of Manfrini.

And they're absolutely beautiful.

The figures are, just come to life.

The details - magnificent.

It's just a true work of art and, a very emotional piece of art.

We do like the stations at night and, puts off a beautiful glow.

The tabernacle was designed by an artist from Italy.

It represents the idea of an egg inside a nest.

And, inside that egg, of course, are the host.

The colors in the stained glass were chosen to be very similar to the colors in the floor.

The top portion being again, the symbol of the of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

As you look at the sun, literally the sunburst being God, the cross being the Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the dove.

You'll find this, this symbo replicated in a number of places in the chapel.

And, it's a beautiful representation of the Trinity.

The sketches from February of 1994.

In developing the floor, we took the site, and now you can really see the triangular nature of the site.

We took the site and we drew a series of interconnecting triangles over the entire site.

We then bega laying an outline of the chapel over the triangles and any wall of the chapel would fall on a side of the triangle.

This is where we say it literally and figuratively grew from the Holy Spirit.

The floor really exposes itself when you're standing still for a moment.

And you do pause you know, before you walk on it, because it is a piece of art.

As we can se the floor, it is, comprised of, the triangles again, but of four different types of marble, Bianco Statuario, It's a typical pure white marble from Italy.

The, yellow is is from Angelo de Siena, produced and mined from Siena.

As we get to the smaller triangles, we have an emerald green and a deep rose.

The intricate patterns of the chapel floor need a master craftsman.

Cool.

You see this one?

This is the same column.

Because the project is such a an emotional project, and such an important project, I loved to work with people on it that had passion.

And probably the most passionate of all the construction workers was Priscilla Medici.

Do you like it?

Oh, it's beautiful.

Beautiful, beautiful.

I know this is a very precious marble.

There must be exactly as this one.

It's a family business for over six generations, they've served 11 popes, largely doing floors in the Vatican.

We called upon this, outstanding studio.

The patroness of the studio is Priscilla Medici.

She was just a joy to work with.

This is a Roman of 2000 years ago.

It's a Roman idea to have marble used as a carpet.

It's a beautiful idea.

She understood the art on the floor.

She understood the craftsmanship that was needed to produce the floor.

Look at this.

This is an antique?

This is antique?

- Yes.

How old is this marble?

- 2000 years.

2000 years old.

We went to the Medici studio.

We're outside our large blocks of various marbles from all over the world.

That... We chose the four basic floor colors from through a wonderful process that as we walked around and something looked like it was a close color, one of the workers with a bucket of water and a sponge would wet the marble to bring out the actual color of it, and I would say, yeah, that's perfect.

Let's pick this color, this color, this color.

Medici studio within two days had done a patter for us, a sample true to color.

The actual materials.

It was jus a very emotional moment to see that pattern in her studio become a reality.

Like it?

Oh, I'm so glad we chose it.

It really is a beautiful piece.

-It is a very elegant red, because the red, it will be elegant.

Honestly.

The, violet, red.

Not orange.

- Youre right.

Right.

A deep blue violet.

I think that I worked ver pleasantly with the architect.

That means that he understands marble.

This is my point of view.

My fondest memory is him creating this floor just at the kitchen table there, and with all his colored pencils and drawing the triangles and putting the different color in that he thought would work.

I can remember that as if it were yesterday.

You cant even express how wonderful it feels to know that your husband is such a part of this.

Gene Astorino did much mor than watch her husband at work.

She attended important meetings, served as project manager, interpreter, and sometimes counselor.

I think during this process I kept asking why?

And you know, you're always waiting for answers when you pray, it's either yes or no answer.

And it was just that praying every day coming to Saint Peter's while Lou was working, or even at home, just praying and making sur that everything would be okay.

And he answered our prayers.

And Jean's importance on the project can't be overemphasized, because she was the glue that held us together between the American sid and the Italian side.

And she- she was able to straddle that line beautifully.

I feel every step of the way that I was a pencil in someone's hand.

As I've always said, I'm proud of this, not because I did it but because I was a pencil.

Astorino is still putting final touches on the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

A sculpture of Saint Peter's Cross is planned for the rear of the chapel.

We have a piece of sculpture that's an inverted crucifix to remind those as they leave the chapel of the Humility of Saint Peter who was crucified upside down.

The inverted crucifi will be positioned in the chapel on axis with Saint Peter's grave, which is located 100 yards away in Saint Peter's Basilica.

As you go through our chapel, it crosses at this point.

This is the point.

of the center line of our chapel.

At this point, something very important had to happen.

This is where the Saint Peter's sculpture will go.

I think it'll be a very moving piece.

For now, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit remains a small jewel at the Vatican.

But the world will know this place when Cardinals deciding on a new pope will come together here in prayer.

I have not had a chanc to pray there often, because I - when I went there, I was there to work.

What could I you know, what could I correct if there was something wrong?

It did- Is there something I didn't think of?

Is it- Does it look right, or is the lighting, right?

And no, until this trip I hadn't had a chance to reflect on the chapel as a chapel.

No, I'm not Catholic.

Within our group.

We're Protestants, Catholics and and Jews.

And it was just remarkable.

And we all, I'm sure of, view it in the same fashion.

So by your gifts will I utter praise in the vast assembly.

I was struck by its beauty and its simplicity, and perhaps even its understatement.

And it was done with a great deal of thought.

And I will treasure those few days for a long time.

When I walked in, I had th sense of intimacy and serenity.

Very nice to meet you.

It really felt special being there and, thinking that this was done by a Pittsburgher.

The architect from Pittsburgh who left a treasure in Vatican history.

And along with tha comes an awesome responsibility for a lot of things.

How you live your life, how it has absolutely changed my life.

What do I do with it?

This thing this chapel is a gift.

It's a gift to the Vatican.

It's a gift to the bishops an the Cardinals that will use it.

And the priests.

But it's also a gift to me.

And what do I do with this gift?

It weighs heavily on me and just hope I do the right thing.

The chapel will always be always be the greatest thing I've ever done.

And if the chapel is one of the Vatican's most private places, you are abou to see one of its most public.

Another place with a Pittsburgh connection.

The Creche in Saint Peter's Square.

Every holiday season an estimated 1 million tourists visit the Vatican to see this impressive display.

There's some things you know only in your heart.

Father Ron Lengwin of Pittsburg is seeing it for the first time.

What were you thinking when you walked up here?

I don't know if I was thinking as much as I was feeling.

I mean, the sound of the bells, for example, you hear now, it was almost like I'd been here, and I had not physically been here, but it seems that in spirit I was here.

You see the scene and it reawakens your faith.

It is a gift to the Holy Father, to the Roman people, especially to the young people who come at the Christmas period to see this beautiful scenery, this beautiful representation.

Special lighting gives the Creche a warm glow.

The finely detailed sculptures are one of a kind.

In fact, the Vatican had never authorized a replica anywhere in the world until Pittsburgh architect Lou Astorino saw the Vatican display and wanted to recreate i in Pittsburgh.

So he approached Vatican engineer Massimo Stoppa.

Massimo I like to say was the maestro of of orchestrating the entire process.

He's the first one I called.

I think the creche of the Vatican and the Saint Peter's Square is the first, beautiful creche.

So we are very happ [that its] also in Pittsburgh.

And he is the he's the only one that I knew that could go through the, the bureaucracy of the Vatican to get approval.

They did get approval.

And in 1999, the replica of the creche sanctioned by the Vatican, went up in downtown Pittsburgh at the U.S.

Steel Plaza on Grant Street.

The Pittsburgh Creche is now attracting visitors from as far away as California.

People are amazed to learn that some of the figures in Pittsburgh were created by the same man who created those at the Vatican.

Pietro Simonelli works out of the small studio in Rome.

Here he sculpte holy figures out of paper maché.

Simonelli is proud that his designs were used in Saint Peter's Square and in downtown Pittsburgh.

It was very special for him because it was something that he enjoyed doing, and it was something that, was able to go on in another cit Like Pittsburgh.

And he was ver pleased to be able to do that, was very honored.

Simonell is among the many Roman artists, craftsmen and seamstresse who created the Vatican Creche.

The reason the Sisters got this job i Pittsburgh is because in Rome, it began with the Sisters, supplying the, costumes for the, nativity scene there.

Pittsburgh is following the tradition.

Like in Rome, each year something new i added to the Pittsburgh Creche a new figure, new clothing, a change in the lighting to keep people coming back.

And thanks to many people at will, local carpenters, electricians, sculptors and many volunteers make it a team effort.

A team effort that started because of a connection between two cities.

To have a connection allowed the light to come.

You're welcome in Pittsburgh anytime.

500,000 people have seen the Pittsburgh Creche.

It absolutely warms my heart that I was able to play a small part in it, because that's what Christmas is all about.

How did we get in there?

We set a record with the Quince family wagon.

I think right?

These two young men are two o many who've come to the Vatican, and they're continuing a longstanding Pittsburgh clerical connection: studying in Rome, preparing for the priesthood.

We had a lot of guys in the car.

That was funny.

At least 8 or 9 of them.

On the left, Deacon Tom Kunz of Point Breeze.

On the right, brothe John Donahue of Squirrel Hill.

They've been friends since the 1980s, when they were students at Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School.

And then going down to the Washingtons Landing t get on the river to go rowing.

As teenagers, they rowed for Central's crew team, and here they are wit their dates at the senior prom.

I think that probably both of us experienced our call around the same time in college, and Brother John entered the seminary, and I was a little bit more shy about doing that.

I didn't know what the Lor wanted me to do, really, I said, “Lord, what- Where do you want me to be with my life?” Kuhn says he received his answer.

Ironically, that answer led him to Rome at the same tim as his friend from Pittsburgh.

I think I missed the people in Pittsburgh, really.

The people in Rome are so friendly, but I think we find that in in Pittsburgh as well.

Although I do miss Pittsburgh, especially at Penguin Games.

I was a big Penguin fan.

Brother Donohue will become a priest in the Legionaries of Christ order, most likely assigned to a third world country.

And when I walk along that personal path that he's called me to, there's so many great things that you can give to other people along that way.

And I think that's what it is.

Giving that smile every day, giving that sign of joy, of hope in a world that sometimes needs more people smiling.

Deacon Khuns will also be ordained a priest and work in familiar territory.

After my time here in Rome, Ill go back to Pittsburgh and hopefully I'll be ordained this summer and then come back for another year of studies as a graduate student, as a priest, and then go back and hopefully Ill be able to be in a parish and wor with the people in Pittsburgh.

Until then, if they want to reminisce about their hometown, Brother Donahue, Deacon Khuns have plenty of company.

Pittsburgh always rank at or near the top of the list among cities sending the most seminarians to study at North American College in Rome.

The number of students that the diocese sends here, the number of priest that come to study on sabbatical or to do their graduate degrees.

So there's always some connection between Pittsburgh and the Vatican.

We've had a nice connection with Rome as a diocese.

Many of the priests i the Diocese of Pittsburgh have studied here.

Whether it be on a sabbatical program or as a seminarian or graduate student.

Father Ji Farnam is in the graduate House of North American College right now.

He too grew up in Pittsburgh i the suburb of Peters Township.

After college, Ji Farnan was first a bond trader in Chicago before he felt a call to the priesthood.

And growing up, when I was a younger man, I never imagined that I'd be living in Rome at any time.

Frankly, I never imagined that I'd be a priest.

The Lord, The Lord has been very generous in his love for me and calling me to the priesthood and to be able to come here to to Rome to study has been an unimaginable experience.

The third window in without the sheers- That was my office wall.

And, I spent a lot of time there.

Ten years worth.

Bishop Donald Wuerl of the Pittsburgh diocese spent those ten years at the Vatican working for someone who Pittsburghers will well remember.

Bisho John Wright served in Pittsburgh from 1959 to 1969, when he was elevated to Cardinal.

That's a young father, Donald Wall on the left, chosen by Cardinal Wright to be his assistant at the Vatican.

It was an extraordinary experience because it was the 70s and w were here for that whole decade.

And that was a time of great social change, not just in the church, but in society in general.

And so it was a challenging time.

When he was in charge of the office that's responsible for clergy throughout the world, the teaching of catechesis catechism throughout the world, and also for the church's patrimony.

So it was a big job.

When Bishop World visits North American College, he and other American bishops stay at the Cardinal Wright suite.

They're reminded of ho the cardinal was so instrumental in bringing a Pittsburgh presence to the Vatican before he died in 1979.

Is this emotional for you when you think of him when you're here.

It always is.

Every time I come back here, there's a certain a tug on the heart.

We spent an enormous amount of time together.

I traveled with him as his assistant.

So every time I come back to this city, he's still very much present.

And with his many trips to Vatican City, Bishop Wuerl keeps that Pittsburgh presence alive.

He was instrumental in yet another Pittsburgh Vatican interfaith connection.

This menorah commemorating the Holocaust was presented to the North American College in Rome.

Pittsburgh Catholics and Jews thought it important to have this replica stand at Saint Paul's Seminary in the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton.

There is so much of that effort in the Pittsburgh community.

Our Jewish, our Muslim, our Christian, leadership worked so hard to build bridges.

Good to see all of Pittsburgh.

Doctor, how are you?

But the biggest interfaith connection between Pittsburgh and the Vatican is yet to come.

In that building that back there that's where the concerts going to take place.

And this group of Pittsburgh tourists are here in Rome to be a part of.

You all have your tickets already.

Okay.

Well, God bless you.

Enjoy.

Thank you.

Inside this Vatican concert hall, world renowned maestr Gilbert Levine takes the stage.

For the first time in history, the Vatican has invited an American orchestra to perform for the Pope.

As the crowd of 7000 awaits the entrance of Pope John Paul the Second, you can't help but notice the dynamics of the audience.

Christians, Jews, Muslims.

This unprecedented interfaith gathering is what the Vatican calls a concer for reconciliation among faiths existing in a world fille with religious misunderstandings and violence.

The performance is being broadcast live across Europe.

The international media is here to cover.

Several hundred people from Pittsburgh are here to see it.

That's because the first ever American orchestra chosen to play for th Pope is the Pittsburgh symphony.

Pope John Paul II was wheeled into the concert hall and seated on a special platform to the left of the orchestra.

The audience was struck by his appearance.

The Pope seemed healthier and much more alert than many expected as he prepared for an evening with the Pittsburgh Symphony.

This interfaith gathering was organized to celebrate the 25th year of John Paul IIs papacy, and it was a long time in planning.

How did this come about - Pittsburgh Symphony chosen to play for the Pope?

I have had the extraordinary privilege to create concerts and to conduct them for the Pope for 15 years.

And when the Pope, it goes back to 1996, declared that reconciliation among the Abrahamic faiths was a central tenet of the jubilee in 2000, and I conducted for the Pope a concert on his birthday in 2000.

Everyone thought not reconciliation, but that we were we had made progress.

September 11th changed everything, and the Pope's tremendous fervor for finding common ground among the peoples of Abraham, Jews, Christians and Muslims, became even greater and I went to him and said, I want to do a concert that comes at this from the basic tenets that we all share.

If I found music that did that, would a concert make sense?

So I proposed the Mahler' Second Symphony: Resurrection.

Very, very important because I'm Jewish.

We pray in Orthodox Judaism for for Resurrection three times a day, the resurrection of our souls in heaven after we die that this life is not the end.

Resurrection is one o the seven basic tenets of Islam.

And of course, it's central to Christianity.

Vis-a-vis common ground.

Vis-a-vis common ground.

And I knew in my heart right away that it needed to be an American orchestra because we are a society of tolerance.

And I had admired the Pittsburgh Symphony.

This is an orchestr that is simply of great heritage and is world class.

It's the only American symphony ever to play for the Pope.

What was the Vatican's reaction, the Pope's reaction - Pittsburgh?

Well, it is very important.

For the first time, I went to the private secretary of His Holiness, and I said I want the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Why Pittsburgh?

Really?

Yes.

And I said because it's a great orchestra.

Holiness, please tell His Holiness: great orchestra.

There was an excitement about it, because I think the Vatican knows that we are a societ of tolerance and that they are the right orchestra representin the right city for this event.

I'm Jeff Grubbs, I'm a double bass player for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

And this will be m first opportunity to go to Rome.

And I'm very excited to to perform for the Pope.

Whenever we perform, we try to play our best.

And for an audience like this, we should be quite inspired to do that.

My name is Penny Anderson Burrell.

I play viola in the Pittsburgh Symphony.

I've been in the orchestra since 1980.

My father's Unitarian.

My mother is kind of a fundamentalist Bible religion of some sort or another.

And I have a twin sister who's Quaker.

I'm Jewish by choice, and I have an older sister who's Episcopalian.

So, I've always said interfaith tolerance begins at home, and there are a lot of things that we've learned about getting along together that I think apply to this particular situation.

I'm very interested i what the Pope is trying to do, what this gesture will mea for the international community.

He takes you on a spiritual journey, and this i what the Pope was interested in.

The first movement is a kind o understanding of our humanness.

The fourth movement, an angel encounters a soul, the soul of this person who's died and says, why do you want to go?

Where do you want to go?

And the souls that I want to go back where I came from.

God will show me the light.

I will know the way.

And then the last movement is a full blown, remarkable depiction of the Last Judgment.

And then the resurrection of humankind.

There is no more, no greater sense of exaltation.

Helping carry ou the message of reconciliation, a diverse selection of interfaith singers, Pittsburgh's Mendelssohn Choir and choirs from Poland, London and Turkey.

Throughout the concert which lasted more than an hour, the 83 year old pope sometimes rested his head in his hands, but he remained attentive as the musicians and singer premiered a piece called Abraham by American composer John Harbison.

Then the Pittsburgh Symphony delivered three movements of Gustav Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, After the performance, a standing ovation.

And then, Pope John Paul the Second spoke in Italian.

He talked about troubled violent relations in the past and present among Christians, Jews and Muslims.

He talked about the need for sincere reconciliation.

He thanked everyone involved in the concert, including the Pittsburgh musicians.

And while most of the musicians, choir members and audience could not understand Italian, they sat spellbound throughout the Pope's 12 minute speech.

Afterwards, the Pope congratulated Maestro Gilbert Levine.

Then something that hasn't happened for 15 years at a papal concert.

The Pope asked for an encore.

And I went back to the podium and looked back toward him, and he gave a gesture.

And said, yes?

Yes?

And then I started up again at the end of the Mahler.

And just having his presenc there and requesting an encore.

That's always a special moment, especially from the podium.

I think we're on top of the charts with this event, and we're certainly happy that we were able to be ambassadors for all Pittsburghers.

Here's a pope for 25 years, hes been trying to promote unity of spirit between factions that haven't been able to achieve that throughout history, and that here we are with through this music and us trying to do this.

I was absolutely thrilled.

The point of tonight's conference reconciliation.

It was fantastic.

And it brought tears to my eye when I realized that the world loves Pittsburgh Symphony.

So we're really talking about a recognition globally.

And the Pittsburgh Symphony, of course, is at the heart of it all.

I thought they were the world class orchestra they were meant to be, that they needed to be for this occasion.

And they absolutely were.

Pittsburgh has every right to be extraordinarily proud of this orchestra tonight.

Pittsburgh, powerful at this interfaith concert for the Pope.

Proud of its spiritua connections to the Eternal City.

Proud of its historic contributions to the Vatican.

Pittsburgh is is a is a microcosm of the world It gets along with each other and respects each other and respects each other's religion.

And I feel extremely strong that there's a very deep, deep connection between Pittsburgh and the Vatican.

From Pittsburgh to the Vatican is made possible by funding from the Donohue Family Foundation, Daniel H. Shapira, Laird E. Smith, Ronald L. Violi, Easley and Rivers, and the Peter C. Dozzi Family Foundation, WQED, and ou viewers appreciate your support.