“Higher Word” Concert

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, we attended the Higher Word Easter concert (“Rise Again’) at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The 50+ member Higher Word orchestra and choir is an explicitly Catholic musical enterprise. The music for the evening was by Catholic composers and the introductions to each piece emphasized their links to the Faith. Old St. Patrick’s was filled for the occasion with an often festively attired crowd. I definitely felt my age – I would say the average age of the audience was in the mid-20’s. The concert was preceded and followed by social events (which I did not attend)  which helps to explain the fancy dress of much of the crowd.  

The musical offerings and accompanying explanations were on the short side, and very user-friendly.  At times processions and dramatic light effects enhanced the event. The audience received the evening enthusiastically.

The spirit of Higher Word reminds me of what an earlier generation of young Catholics attempted to achieve in the City. In the 1980’s the Catholic Forum also tried to combine knowledge of Catholicism with opportunities for social mixing. However,  instead of music, the Forum generally offered lectures by Catholic greats of the past – I can’t say that that was an equally attractive proposition. I recall that the Forum also organized more purely social events, but I don’t think any had remotely the success of last Thursday’s concert.  

Perhaps a change of generation it also involved. For despite (or because of) the decrepitude of the Catholic Church establishment, a new generation is turning to the faith. The New York Post recently covered the phenomenon in New York City:

Why young People are Converting to Catholicism en Masse.

I have seen and have been told of the same developments elsewhere in and around New York. Is it because of the influence of podcasts and social media apostolates? Is it the shock of the sudden political change in the United States? Or a more significant spiritual transformation that’s underway? 

For more on Higher Word see higherword.org.