Friar Alessandro at St George's Cathedral 'a triumph'

Fr Alessandro with Jay Britton and Justin Harmer. Taken for RC Southwark by Anthony Tynan-Kelly

Source: Archdiocese of Southwark

Following on from the recent charity concert with Friar Alessandro, 'Voice from Assisi', at St George's Cathedral Southwark, the Archdiocese of Southwark has announced that £3,130 will be equally shared between the two concert charities - CAFOD's East Africa Appeal and Caritas Bakhita House, which supports women who have escaped human trafficking. The organisers were extremely pleased by the generosity shown by the audience, for two worthy causes.

The concert was very well attended, with estimates of anywhere up to 700 people. Lady Barran was in the audience and commented afterwards: "What a triumph the evening was … It had a real sense of occasion and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely! Friar Alessandro's just undeniably special and sincere and consequently succeeds in charming his audience!"

Publicity for the event included coverage in The Times and BBC Radio London which facilitated an outreach beyond the immediate faith community. Friar Alessandro was interviewed on the BBC Radio London breakfast show on the day by Jo Good and Simon Lederman. Jo Good subsequently reported: "We love him … and lots of listeners emailed us after the concert … full of praise."

Friar Alessandro was delighted to be able to meet a good number of the audience after the performance, an aspect of his music ministry that he very much enjoys. The concert provided a wonderful opportunity to welcome people who might never have visited St George's Cathedral and those who perhaps had not stepped inside a church for years. Amongst positive feedback from those who attended include this comment from Malcolm Billings, Broadcaster and Writer: "Magnificent concert. Enough to draw one back into the church! Everyone was so good and the presentation in a beautiful cathedral was calm and delightful."

Archbishop Peter Smith concludes: "We are very grateful to Friar Alessandro, the event founder Katie Toone, and all those involved, for having delivered such a wonderful event in St George's Cathedral."

Read more about Friar Allesandro here: www.friaralessandro.com

For more information on St George's Cathedral, Southwark: www.stgeorgescathedral.org.uk/visitus/