Swedish choir honors St. Lucy with songs in St. Peter’s Basilica
Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm perform traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 11, 2025. | Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News
A Swedish youth choir marked the feast of St. Lucy by singing at a Mass at the Vatican on Thursday, Dec. 11.
Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm performed traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the Italian saint’s Dec. 13 feast day.
Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm perform traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 11, 2025. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News
“It was just really amazing” singing in St. Peter’s Basilica, choir member Alfio Tota told EWTN News after the Dec. 11 Mass. “It’s so enormous … And the acoustics are very interesting.”
The student recalled that though Sweden is a very secular country, the tradition of St. Lucia, as they call her, is quite strong.
Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm perform traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 11, 2025. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News
“I think everyone feels quite a lot of joy and nostalgia in singing” the St. Lucy hymns, he said.
Choir member Fabienne Glader told EWTN News that she always spends the feast of St. Lucy with her family.
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Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm perform traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 11, 2025. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News
St. Lucy “shows courage and patience and just to never [give up] on yourself,” Glader said. “Even if you’re not really religious in any way, you can look up to her as just a wonderful person.”
The choir’s conductor, Casimir Käfling, said as a Christian, the tradition of St. Lucy was always part of Christmas for his family.
Students from Nordiska Musikgymnasiet — The Nordic Music High School — in Stockholm perform traditional Swedish “Lucia songs” during an afternoon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 11, 2025. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News
He called it “an incredible honor to be able to sing and conduct” her songs in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Käfling also recalled the darkness Sweden experiences during the winter, especially in the month of December, and said St. Lucy brings light into that darkness.
“The story of St. Lucy really plays with these contrasts of light and dark, and most importantly, hope and despair,” Tota said.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency’s senior Vatican correspondent. After growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, she earned a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri. In 2016, she moved to Rome, Italy, where in her spare time she enjoys reading and going on adventures with her husband and son.
Bénédicte Cedergren is an Associate Producer for EWTN News Nightly. She is Swedish-French and grew up in Stockholm. After graduating from the University of Stockholm with a degree in Journalism, Bénédicte moved to Rome where she earned a degree in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. She also sings sacred music and works as a photographer. Passionate about spreading the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith, Bénédicte enjoys sharing the testimonies of others and writing stories that captivate and inspire.
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St. Lucy’s Day, also known as Lucia Day, is a traditional Swedish celebration filled with children in costumes, elaborate processions, and Swedish treats.
Pope Francis said that “we need women’s work and their word in a Church that reaches out that it may be leaven and light in the culture and in our lives together.”
