Sacred Heart Academy and Parish in Grand Rapids Launches Palestrina 500 Music Festival

In December 2024, Sacred Heart Academy and Parish launched the Palestrina 500 Music Festival to celebrate the quincentennial of Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose work is central to the sacred music tradition. The festival began with a solemn Mass celebrated by Bishop David Walkowiak on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and will continue throughout 2025 with choirs from around the world joining Sacred Heart to perform Palestrina’s masterpieces during liturgies. This year-long celebration of sacred music offers a profound tribute to the beauty and reverence of the Catholic liturgical tradition, and all performances are offered free of charge to the public. The festival serves as a testament to Sacred Heart’s commitment to cultural renewal through the restoration of sacred beauty in both liturgy and education. See the schedule below for performance dates, or visit https://www.sacredheartgr.org/palestrina500/ for more information.