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La Voz Canaria

Papal Visit Hymn Video Features Anaga and Teide Landscapes

The musical composition, directed by Pablo Cebrián, aims for ecclesial unity and will donate its proceeds to Church social works.

Generic image of a library interior with a podium and chairs, warmly lit.
IA

Generic image of a library interior with a podium and chairs, warmly lit.

The music video for the official hymn of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Spain, titled Alza la mirada, opens with stunning images of Anaga and Teide, aiming to symbolize the unity of the Church in the country.

The musical production, directed by artistic producer Pablo Cebrián, a native of La Laguna, blends choral power with contemporary production. Its goal is to connect with both young audiences and ecclesiastical tradition, serving as an emblem of cohesion for the Church in Spain. The project culminates with the recording of the hymn in the Cathedral of La Laguna, highlighting the image of the Dark Christ.
Driven by the VIVAFE platform, the project brought together the Great Choir of Catholic Voices, comprising over 1,700 volunteers from the archdioceses of Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the dioceses of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The hymn's recording took place on March 21 simultaneously in four emblematic locations: the Cathedral of Almudena, the Sagrada Familia Basilica, the Cathedral of La Laguna, and the Cathedral of Gran Canaria. This strategy not only met technical criteria but also sought to represent the universality of the Church through a single choral voice.
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"The hymn does not seek protagonists, but rather to represent the entire Church."

Estefanía Benedicto · Musical director of the recording in Tenerife
The hymn's authorship is a collective effort, with the participation of eleven composers linked to various expressions of Catholic music in Spain, including members of Hakuna, the group TUYO, and priests Toño Casado and Jaime Salmonero, along with other musicians like Marcos Ricbour and Javi Caño. This choral approach, without a single lead voice, reinforces the idea of community, aiming for the hymn to be owned by the entire Church rather than a specific artist.
In Tenerife, musical direction was handled by Estefanía Benedicto, who coordinated dozens of volunteers at the Cathedral of La Laguna. The recording day lasted almost five hours, in an atmosphere of coexistence and collaboration that many participants described as an experience of shared unity and faith, a true musical “Pentecost” at the local level.
The hymn, in addition to accompanying the papal visit, has a dual purpose: to leave a lasting musical and social legacy. Proceeds from its reproduction will be allocated to the Church's social works, and the song is conceived as a spiritual tool for prayer and personal encounter. The complex organization of the recording has served as a dress rehearsal for the Pope's visit, which will be historic for the Canary Islands as it marks the first time a pontiff includes the archipelago in his agenda.

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