I have known the Schoenstatt Shrine here in Paraná since a very young age because the Girls’ and Boys’ Youth and the Family Branch have always been very active and present in the diocese.

From a young age, I was part of the lay organization Catholic Action. I was formed there from age 5 through my teenage years.

But the Blessed Mother already won my heart in my youth. I participated in university missions with the Schoenstatt group, and there, little by little, the Blessed Mother began to call me and draw me to her, until in 2016 she won my heart and I sealed my covenant of love as a pilgrim.

I believe that Schoenstatt spirituality and the Covenant of Love are things that, once you come to know them—once you discover them—stay with you for the rest of your life. Both personally and in our mission on this journey of evangelizing through music, we say that we are children of Providence. It is a path of complete surrender to God’s Providence, to His plans, and to whatever He wills—trusting blindly in the God who reveals Himself in all the events of our lives. And, of course, the Blessed Mother accompanies our mission; she travels with us always—whether through our little Covenant medal or, at times, when we can carry a tiny Pilgrim Mother Shrine. But she is also present in her image: we have encountered her at airports and in the communities we visit, and we have had the wonderful opportunity to visit shrines in different countries throughout Latin America. The truth is that both Schoenstatt spirituality and the Covenant of Love with Mary are always present.

Well, the first sign God gave me that He could do great things through me—if I let myself be used as an instrument—came when I was very young. I was in school—I think I was 13 or 14—and after singing at Mass, a teacher approached me and said, “You sing so beautifully, and it does me so much good to hear you.” Those words kept echoing in my heart.

As I grew older, those words never faded from my mind. The Lord gradually showed me that He had given me a gift and that He needed me to spread His message of love, peace, and mercy through the music He had given me.

The big step we took was nine years ago, when we began working on our evangelization project. We started working with a producer to create music, and we realized that people liked our artistic vision.

After that, in 2017, we spent two years in discernment, trying to determine whether God truly wanted us in that place and for this mission. It was a process of seeking God’s confirmation together with my spiritual director, accompanied by much prayer, until God confirmed in our lives that He wanted us here, evangelizing through music.

I believe that the role of Catholic music in evangelizing younger generations is very important, because what we seek is to show young people that they can live out their faith in any setting of their lives, at all times of the day—that the Catholic faith is not confined within the Church, nor is it limited solely to Masses and adoration, or to being on one’s knees, but rather a faith that accompanies you while you’re at school, while you’re in college, while you’re working—a faith that accompanies you when you’re having fun with your friends.

Contemporary Catholic music also offers this: a variety of styles and genres—more classical, contemplative, and meditative, as well as more modern, urban, folk, and Latin genres…

There are many Catholic artists today who are seeking to diversify Catholic music across genres so that young people, above all, also have the opportunity to listen to music that conveys not only a message of faith but also of hope, encouragement, comfort, and solace.

Today, in the world we live in, many messages lead young people toward depression, toward withdrawing from others, and toward believing only in themselves—that they alone can empower themselves.

Our message, however, takes a different approach: it reminds young people that they are valuable, that they have a God who loves them, that we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us, and that we can do all things if we walk hand in hand with Jesus.

I believe that music today plays a fundamental role in bringing hope and a different message to young people.

Yes, my song “Santa María” was meant as a gift to the Blessed Mother for these 10 years of the Covenant of Love we have shared. It arose from a desire of the heart, as a way to remember and reflect on these 10 years we have walked together.

There wasn’t a single spiritual experience that inspired the song, but rather the act of reflecting on everything we’ve gone through together—what these 10 years have been like, how Mary has accompanied me, revealed herself to me, and walked alongside me. The song is also meant to be a new offering to Mary and a renewed commitment to choose her once again so we can walk together for another 10, 20, or 30 years…

For me, transforming a personal experience with Mary, with Jesus, with the Eucharist, with the Holy Spirit… into a song is a way to express what’s inside me and to share with the world how I live my faith, how I feel my faith, how I feel Mary’s presence, how I feel the Holy Spirit, how I connect with the Eucharist, how I meditate, and how I understand the Gospel.

For me, it’s a way to express myself and to offer the world the peace, love, and calm that come to me from Jesus—the comfort.

It’s simply that—a way to express what’s inside me that might also help others: someone going through a hard time, someone who needs to hear a word of encouragement, or someone who needs to find in Mary a refuge, a safe place.

In September, Sarita Cafferata—the director of the choral ensemble performing at the youth gathering—contacted me on WhatsApp. She told me about the proposal.

To be honest, at first I thought she had the wrong person. It took me a while to realize the message was for me and that the invitation was to join that choral ensemble.

That same day, I was also contacted from Córdoba about the activities they were planning there. But for logistical reasons, I had to choose between the two, and I chose Buenos Aires.

Providentially, my decision to go to Buenos Aires also gave me the opportunity to sing during the prelude to the Mass on the 9th, which Pope Leo will celebrate with all the families and everyone in attendance.

For me, it was an enormous gift from God. I wasn’t expecting it—honestly, I didn’t expect to be invited. I’m very happy to be part of all this.

I can tell you that the first one will be on Monday the 9th, as part of the prelude to the Mass the Pope will celebrate with all Argentines.

We’ll be leading the singing for a little while with a team; Uriel Arcodazzi and Atenas will also sing. The three of us will share songs from the popular Catholic songbook, along with some original compositions.

Our second performance will be on Tuesday the 10th at the Monument to the Spaniards, during the Pope’s meeting with young people.

We’re scheduled to perform from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m., and we’ll be joined by a choral ensemble of 150 voices and an orchestra of 50 musicians. There will be five soloists: Maxi Largui, Atenas, Joaquín Chávez, Mechi Ruiz, Luque, and me.

We’ll be there sharing a little bit of music.

I would tell Pope Leo, “Thank you”—thank you for being so brave and for agreeing to lead our church, for accepting and being open to the Holy Spirit to fulfill this mandate, which is clearly not easy. Thank you!