In a meeting with Pope Francis, Caetano Veloso asks for prayer for children victims of violence in Rio

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Pope Francis in a meeting at the Vatican with Caetano Veloso Vatican News/Reproduction In a rare private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, this Thursday (28), singer and composer Caetano Veloso asked for a prayer from the Holy Father for children who are victims of violence in Rio de Janeiro. Caetano listed the ten children who have died from firearms this year in the metropolitan region of Rio – including the girl Eloah da Silva Santos, aged 5, who was shot when she was at home in Morro do Dendê. In the letter, he also cited the violence that has taken over Bahia in recent weeks – Caetano is from Santo Amaro da Purificação, in the interior of the state. “In view of this situation of worsening violence in Brazil, I ask that Your Holiness turn your gaze and your prayers to our country. I am sure that your message of peace will be heard in the country whose patron saint is Our Lady of Aparecida”, wrote Caetano in letter delivered to the Pope. In addition to the audience with the Pope – an appointment normally reserved for heads of state and government and high-ranking authorities –, the musician also toured the Vatican Gardens and the Sistine Chapel. Caetano was accompanied by his wife Paula Lavigne. At the meeting, Pope Francis made a request to the Brazilian: “Continue spreading love with your songs.” In the text delivered to the Pope, Caetano remembered his mother, Dona Canô, who fought to defend the depollution of the Subaé River and campaigned for the restoration of the Church of Our Lady of Purification. And his greatest emotion was when the church received an image of Our Lady of Aparecida. Caetano is on tour in Europe with the show for the album “Meu Coco” – on Wednesday (27), he performed in Rome, Italy. Pope Francis, Caetano Veloso and Paula Lavigne in a meeting at the Vatican Vatican News/Reproduction Read below the full message delivered by Caetano Veloso to the Pope: Vatican, September 28, 2023 Your Holiness, Pope Francis, It is with special joy that I arrive here, at the Holy See, for this meeting. I’m from the city of Santo Amaro da Purificação. And since I was a boy, I enchanted my mother, Dona Canô, with her gestures of simplicity, affection and wisdom. She fought in defense of the depollution of the Subaé River and campaigned for the restoration of the church of Nossa Senhora da Purificação, of which she was always an ardent devotee. In 2007, at her centenary celebration, family, friends and the city of Santo Amaro promoted a series of tributes to Dona Canô throughout the year. And what provoked the greatest emotion was the Church of Purification receiving the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Aparecida. It is with these teachings of peace that I arrive here, before Your Holiness. In these 10 years of pontificate of the first Pope in Latin America, a Jesuit named Francis, I have followed his positions denouncing injustices, raising awareness about the situation of migrants and being the author of the first environmental encyclical: Laudato si – On the care of our common home. The text is a necessary warning about human responsibilities in climate change. Santo Padre, where I live, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, violence reached rates equal to those of major wars around the world. And the worst: victimizing more and more children. The list of boys and girls killed by firearms in the Metropolitan Region of Rio is haunting. This year alone, 10 children died this way. Recently, the 5-year-old girl Eloah da Silva dos Santos, who was shot when she was at home, in Morro do Dendê, a community on Ilha do Governador, North Zone of Rio, entered this statistic. Rio de Paz: Rio has 15 children killed by a stray bullet in 2 years The victims have in common the fact that they died suddenly while going about their daily lives. Aged between 9 and 13 years old. The so-called “war on drugs” has not reduced drug trade or use to date. But the number of young people, mostly black, killed by gunshots continues to grow. This tragic fate also killed: Juan Davi de Souza Faria, 11 years old; Rafaelly da Rocha Vieira, 10 years old; Maria Eduarda Carvalho Martins, 9 years old; Ester de Assis Oliveira, 9 years old; Jhenyfer Luz Silva de Souza, 12 years old; Lohan Samuel Nunes Dutra, 11 years old; Yan Gabriel Marques, 12 years old; Dijalma de Azevedo, 11 years old; Thiago Menezes Flausino, 13 years old. Violence also took over Bahia, the state where I was born 81 years ago. I am frightened to see that – in just these first 24 days of September – at least 46 deaths have already been recorded in police clashes across the state. The proportion is almost two deaths per day this month. These deaths occurred mainly in peripheral neighborhoods of Salvador, such as Alto das Pombas, Calabar, Valéria and Águas Claras. Faced with this situation of worsening violence in Brazil, I ask that Your Holiness turns your gaze and your prayers to our country. I am sure that your message of peace will be heard in the country whose patron saint is Our Lady of Aparecida. With deep admiration, my fraternal hug and my cry for help. Caetano Veloso

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