From Vatican Radio:

On the afternoon of Wednesday 2nd of February , Feast of the Presentation of the Lord , Pope Benedict XVI will preside over vespers in Saint Peter’s Basilica at 5.30 pm.

[powerpress = “Vatican_Radio”]

In an effort to prepare for this evening celebration , on this day which is also dedicated to the XVI World Day of Consecrated Life we bring you a musical meditation focusing on the Presentation: “Mary and Joseph came to the Temple to present the Child Jesus to the Lord as the Law required.The Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary focuses on the Presentation in the Temple. We celebrate it liturgically forty days after Christmas on the Feast of Candlemas , when we process with lighted candles , bearing witness before the world to the light of Christ”.

In this programme presented by music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore you can listen to a setting of the Magnificat antiphon for the first vespers of the Feast of the Presentation by Catholic composer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , William Byrd.

A programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick .