Holy Cross Chaplain to Perform as Part of World Youth Day in Australia

WORCESTER, Mass. – Paul Melley, assistant chaplain and director of liturgical music at the College of the Holy Cross, will perform compositions from his newly released CD, Humbled, at World Youth Day (WYD) 2008 hosted by Pope Benedict XVI, in Sydney, Australia on July 18.

Melley is one of 275 musicians who has been invited to participate in WYD, the largest youth event in the world running from July 15 – 20. Organized by the Catholic Church and hosted by Pope Benedict XVI, the event brings together young people from around the world to learn more about their faith. The event, which is the largest gathering Australia has ever hosted, will attract over 125,000 people.

Humbled, released last July, is a collection of contemporary sounds blended with Catholic tradition. The songs have been used in worship, including many that Melley has used during liturgies at Holy Cross since arriving in 2003. The CD is named Humbled based on St. Paul’s letter to the Phillipians. The letter contains the earliest known form of Christian hymn, generally referred to as the Hymn to the Philippians. The letter to the Philippians calls for Christian unity and presents one of the most explicit and profound testimonies in the New Testament of Christ’s humanity and divinity.

Melley is a singer, saxophonist, and composer. He has performed throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe; collaborated with the top innovators in the field of liturgical music; and is featured on a number of recordings. He sang his own composition at the Vigil Liturgy attended by Pope John Paul II in Toronto for World Youth Day 2002.

At Holy Cross, Melley serves as director of the Chapel Choir as well as the Contemporary Ensemble, and oversees music used in liturgy and worship. He is also the chaplain coordinator for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults group on campus. Melley has been a part time faculty member at Boston College’s Graduate Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry for the last five years.

Melley received his B.A. in voice and music education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his M.Th. with a concentration in liturgy at Boston College.

Related Information:

World Youth Day 2008

NECN/Worcester New Tonight (June 26, 2008) Holy Cross chaplain takes his music internationally