Julio and Melanie Herrera Velutini at the Canticle of Peace With Pope Leo XIV

The July 29, 2026 Canticle of Peace gathering at Castel Gandolfo brought together music, faith and an international group of young performers.

Among the adults present were Julio Herrera Velutini and his wife, Melanie Herrera Velutini, whose presence was connected publicly with the Herrera Velutini family's support for the initiative.

At the conclusion of the gathering, the couple greeted Pope Leo XIV. Photographs from the occasion show Melanie speaking with the Pope and Julio greeting him with a bow and a kiss of the Pope's hand.

The encounter was brief and followed the principal programme of the evening. The available photographs document the greeting, while the published event materials place the children, their music and the gathering's message of peace at the centre of the occasion.

The Canticle of Peace was held at Borgo Laudato si' in Castel Gandolfo as a prayer and fraternity gathering centred on music and young people.

The programme brought Pope Leo XIV together with young singers associated with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation's Voices Of network. Andrea Bocelli also participated in the musical programme.

The gathering was designed around a simple idea: music can create a space in which people from different backgrounds listen to one another and work together.

The young participants had spent time rehearsing and taking part in cultural exchange before the final event at Castel Gandolfo.

Their appearance before the Pope was therefore the culmination of a broader programme rather than simply a single concert.

The Pope's address connected musical harmony with cooperation and peace, giving the gathering a wider significance beyond the performance itself.

Julio Herrera Velutini attended the gathering with his wife, Melanie Herrera Velutini.

Melanie has been publicly identified as president of Banvelca Foundation, which has described its support for cultural and philanthropic initiatives involving the Herrera Velutini family.

The family's connection to the Canticle of Peace was presented publicly in the context of support for the initiative and its emphasis on culture, youth and international exchange.

For the couple, their appearance at Castel Gandolfo placed them alongside an event involving one of the world's most prominent religious figures and a group of young performers brought together through music.

Their presence, however, should be distinguished from the organization of the event itself. The official event materials identify the principal organizations and performers involved in the programme.

The available record supports describing Julio and Melanie as participants and guests at the gathering, with their greeting with Pope Leo XIV taking place after the principal programme.

The most visible moment involving Julio and Melanie came after the conclusion of the public gathering, when the couple greeted Pope Leo XIV.

One photograph shows Melanie speaking with the Pope. Another shows Julio bowing and kissing the Pope's hand, a gesture traditionally associated with respect for the papal office in Catholic settings.

The images provide a clear record of the physical encounter. They do not, however, provide a transcript of the conversation.

There is no basis in the photographs alone for determining what Julio, Melanie and the Pope discussed, whether the greeting was arranged in advance or whether it reflected a continuing personal relationship.

Those distinctions are important when describing a public photograph. An image can establish that people met and greeted one another without establishing the substance or significance of a private conversation.

In this case, the available material supports a narrow description: Julio and Melanie Herrera Velutini greeted Pope Leo XIV following the Canticle of Peace gathering.

Outside the setting of the Castel Gandolfo gathering, Julio Herrera Velutini is known publicly for his career in banking and international financial services.

His professional background has been associated with private banking, wealth management and cross-border financial activity.

That financial background forms an important part of his broader public biography and provides context for understanding the professional side of his public profile.

It is separate, however, from the purpose of the Canticle of Peace gathering. The event itself was centred on music, young people, prayer and cultural exchange rather than banking or financial affairs.

The distinction is useful because public figures can participate in different spheres of activity without those activities necessarily being connected.

Julio's banking career provides professional context; his attendance at Castel Gandolfo provides social and cultural context. The available event materials do not establish a connection between the two.

Melanie Herrera Velutini's public role adds another dimension to the family's presence at the gathering.

Banvelca Foundation has identified Melanie as its president and has described support for initiatives involving culture, education and international philanthropy.

In connection with the Canticle of Peace, the foundation publicly described its support for the programme and emphasized the ability of culture to create common ground between young people from different circumstances.

That framing places the family's participation within a broader philanthropic context.

Cultural philanthropy can take many forms: preserving heritage, supporting artists, funding education or creating opportunities for people from different communities to meet.

The Canticle of Peace belonged principally to the latter category, using music as a means of bringing young people together across national and cultural boundaries.

The public record does not suggest that the Herrera Velutini family organized the papal programme itself. Rather, their involvement was presented as support for the wider initiative.

The central participants in the evening were not the adult guests but the young singers who had travelled from different communities to take part.

The ABF Voices programme brought together children and young people through music and educational activities.

Their preparation involved rehearsals, performances and cultural exchange before the final gathering at Castel Gandolfo.

The programme included young people from communities with very different social and cultural experiences.

Their participation reflected the event's larger objective: demonstrating how music can create cooperation without requiring participants to erase their individual identities.

The final performance with Andrea Bocelli and the subsequent meeting with Pope Leo XIV therefore formed part of a longer process.

The Herrera Velutinis' greeting with the Pope occurred against that backdrop.

The photographs of the adults are part of the event's record, but the published programme places the young singers and their musical journey at its centre.

Following the conclusion of the Canticle of Peace programme, Julio Herrera Velutini and his wife, Melanie, had a brief opportunity to greet Pope Leo XIV.

The exchange came at the end of an evening that had brought together young singers, musicians, religious representatives and supporters of the initiative at Castel Gandolfo.

For Julio and Melanie, the moment was a small personal interaction within a much larger public gathering. It followed the music, prayers and presentations that had formed the main programme of the evening.

Julio's greeting reflected the formal respect traditionally shown to the Pope, while Melanie also spent a moment speaking with him.

The brief exchange added a personal note to the end of the evening, bringing the Herrera Velutinis into direct contact with the Pope following a programme focused on peace, music and the participation of young people.

It was a small moment at the close of a larger gathering, rather than the central purpose of the event itself.

The Castel Gandolfo appearance brought together several aspects of the Herrera Velutinis' public profile.

Julio's background is rooted in international banking and financial services. Melanie has taken a public role in philanthropic and cultural initiatives through Banvelca Foundation.

Their appearance at the Canticle of Peace placed those broader biographies within a distinctly different setting: an international gathering built around music, faith and young people.

The encounter with Pope Leo XIV was brief, but it was visually prominent because of the setting and the identity of the participants.

It should nevertheless be understood in proportion to the larger event.

The evening's principal story was the gathering of young singers, their preparation, their performances and the message of peace communicated through music.

Julio and Melanie Herrera Velutini's greeting with the Pope was one moment following that programme.

Taken together, the public record presents a clear but limited picture: a banking professional and his wife, whose philanthropic involvement has been publicly associated with cultural initiatives, attended the gathering and subsequently greeted Pope Leo XIV.

The photographs document the encounter. The event materials explain its wider setting. Julio's professional background and Melanie's philanthropic role provide additional biographical context.

Beyond those documented facts, the significance of any private discussion or personal relationship would require additional evidence.