Concert to Remember Pope John Paul II

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Concert dedicated to John Paul II planned
8/1/2005, 3:50 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — The late Pope John Paul II will be remembered Thursday at a special concert outside the papal residence here where he spent most of his summers as pontiff, organizers said.

"The Mass of the Humble," composed by Antonio Pappalardo as well as works by the pontiff's favorite composer, Dittersdorf, will take place in the Piazza della Liberta in this small, lakeside town in the Alban hills about 16 miles south of Rome.

John Paul spent many summers at the papal residence. Pope Benedict XVI moved in last week and plans to stay through the end of the summer. There was no word on whether he would attend.

Organizers said the evening concert includes eight songs about the Virgin Mary, to whom John Paul was particularly devoted, and will be sung in eight different languages, including his native Polish.

Pappalardo, head of the Carabinieri paramilitary police's specialized unit in Rome, is a postmodern composer, his biography says.