Many apologies here for being behind on this blog.

Lots of things have happened since we last posted. The Archdiocese of Washington is having tryouts this and next week for the 250-person choir that will sing at the pope's April 17 Mass at Nationals stadium. Since tickets will be tightly rationed for this one public event of the Pope Benedict's Washington visit, one would think that enterprising individuals wishing a peep at His Holiness would simply sign up to sing.
Not so fast.

Auditions for this choir are being kept secret. No joke. According to the archdiocesan press office, information on the tryouts have long since been sent to music ministers around the archdiocese. Some choristers from the neighboring Arlington diocese will get to audition too although invites are only going out to folks who are currently active in parish music ministry. It's a puzzle why these tryouts are happening in undisclosed locations. Who are the undesirables likely to crash a papal choir practice?

According to the diocesan newspaper, 200-300 more people will fill the ranks of "additional choirs that represent the rich cultural heritage" of the archdiocese, so there's always that if you missed the main group.

I've had no luck in getting ahold of the person directing music for this Mass: Tom Stehle, the music director at Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac. As messages have been left on his voice mail, I would so appreciate it if he'd get back to me. Thanks to the Whispers in the Loggia blog, I have been made aware that this is the same gentleman who was the cantor at Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl's installation Mass in Pittsburgh back in 1988. My guess is that this might have had a bearing on who was selected as music director for the Mass.

I've had better luck contacting the Rev. James Massa, executive director for ecumenical and interreligious affairs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who is putting together the April 17 interfaith gathering at the John Paul II Cultural Center near Catholic University. While interviewing him on the changes the Vatican made this week on its Latin-rite Good Friday prayer for the Jews (the full story is here), I asked him who's on the guest list for this event.

Invitations will go out by early March to about 200 people, he said, "mostly to people of national prominence in interreligious dialogue." The pope will give a speech to representatives from these religions: Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. If you think you should be on that list, now's the time to inform Father Massa.

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times