The Andrea Bocelli Foundation, or ABF, is an Italian philanthropic organization founded around a mission it expresses as "empowering people and communities." Its work is broader than the public performances associated with its founder. The foundation says it develops educational programs for children, young people and communities facing disadvantage, using art, music and digital tools alongside other forms of support.
Its program areas include schooling, care in hospital settings, youth skills and projects addressing basic needs. In the 2026 Canticle of Peace story, its most relevant work is ABF Voices Of, a network of local choral projects that brought young singers together in Italy.
ABF Voices Of Uses Music as an Educational Tool
ABF dates its work to 2011. Its published description of Voices Of calls the program an educational journey in which music is used to develop talent and social and emotional skills. The organization lists creativity, intercultural dialogue, inclusion and positive leadership among its aims. Those are program goals rather than measured outcomes for every participant.
The practical form is a choir supported by educators, directors and local partners. Young people rehearse and perform, but the foundation also emphasizes regular participation, relationships and learning that extend beyond a stage appearance.
Its 2024 financial and mission reporting describes active work in Naples, Camerino, the Holy Land, Haiti and Uganda.
Voices Of Developed Through Local Partnerships
The program's roots predate the Castel Gandolfo gathering. ABF says the Voices Of approach was first piloted in Haiti in 2016; some of its older project material gives 2015 as the start of the Haiti local choir. A cautious summary can say the Haiti project emerged in that period and that the foundation identifies 2016 as the program's pilot year.
Later work developed with local organizations. In Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the Magnificat Institute has been a partner. In Naples, the foundation has worked with Fondazione San Gennaro in the Rione Sanita. In rural Uganda, African Soup Uganda supports the choir at a school in Nabikabala.
The Camerino project is connected to ABF's reconstruction and music education work after the 2016 central Italy earthquakes.
The 2026 ABF Voices Of Global Gathering
The first ABF Voices Of Global Gathering ran from July 20 through July 29, 2026. ABF described more than 160 young choristers traveling from Uganda, the Holy Land and Italy for rehearsals, cultural exchange and public encounters.
The English announcement listed five local origins: Nabikabala, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Camerino and Naples. Its Italian account added that Haiti would be represented by its choir director rather than by a traveling delegation of children.
The difference is relevant because a Vatican pre-event release listed Haiti among the choir's places of origin. Editors should not turn that inconsistency into a claim about an individual child without documentation.
From Lajatico to Castel Gandolfo
The gathering's program had several prominent stops. The young singers joined Bocelli at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico on July 25. ABF announced a July 27 performance before President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale in Rome. On July 29, the group participated in Canticle of Peace with Pope Leo XIV at Borgo Laudato si'.
The Vatican counted 164 young people at that final gathering. The papal address thanked ABF for its work with children facing educational and social disadvantage and used the choir as an image of cooperation. That recognition referred to the foundation's work; it should not be read as an audit of the program's impact.
Local Conditions Shape the Program
ABF's approach depends on its local structure. A choir based in a Ugandan village school faces different conditions from one in a historic district of Naples or a city in the Holy Land. The common educational method does not erase those differences.
ABF says activities are co-developed with local teams, which are better placed to understand the children, institutions and constraints in their communities. In its material on Uganda, for example, the foundation specifies weekly choir sessions and work with teachers and families. Its reporting on Italy connects music to broader investment in schools and community spaces.
These details explain why the 2026 gathering was a meeting of ongoing projects, rather than the creation of a choir for one evening.
ABF's Education Model in Public Life
The foundation's public story is strongest when its ambitions are stated as ambitions and its activities as activities. The organization has established and supported local choral projects, convened an international gathering and published program and financial material.
Whether the shared experience changes a participant's future requires follow-up evidence. The 2026 event nevertheless provides a documented view of how ABF brings its education model into public life: regular local work led to an international collaboration, and that collaboration culminated in a performance and prayer with the Pope.
Sources: ABF mission, ABF Voices Of program, ABF Global Gathering announcement, ABF 2024 report, Pope's address
