Resurfaced footage shows Pope Leo singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ with church band in Peru

3 June 2025, 12:53 | Updated: 4 June 2025, 09:24

Summer may be starting, but Pope Leo XIV is getting us in the Christmas spirit.

A video of Pope Leo XIV singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ has resurfaced on TikTok.

The video of him performing the Spanish Christmas song was taken in 2014 when he was a bishop in Peru. In it, Pope Leo is singing with a local church band and clapping along. The audience then erupt into cheers when he finishes.

Read more: Pope Francis reveals he loves Bach’s Passions and schmaltzy Italian classical-pop

‘Feliz Navidad’ translates to ‘Happy Christmas’ from Spanish, and is a Christmas song first recorded in 1970 by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano.

This isn’t the first time we have seen a video of Pope Leo singing. During his first Regina Coeli prayer, he chanted the Regina Coeli from the loggia of the basilica in St. Peter’s Square.

Read more: French Benedictine nuns release 7,000 hours of Gregorian chant

Pope Leo XIV Sings Regina Coeli Prayer - Full Video

His performance from St Peter’s didn’t just bring joy to those who heard and saw it, but was the catalyst for an exciting new Vatican-linked project called ‘Let’s Sing With the Pope’. Hosted by Dominican Father Robert Mehlhart, the president of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, the project is producing instructional videos for those who want to emulate the Pope and sing along with him.

“He has a lovely voice,” Father Mehlhart said. “He is an experienced singer. He lived most of his life in a monastic community, in a community of friars where singing the office is a daily thing.”

Let’s Sing with the Pope: Vatican Launches Global Gregorian Chant Initiative | EWTN News Nightly

The previous Pope, Pope Francis, was also known for his love of classical music. In a 2013 interview he said: “Among musicians I love Mozart, of course. The ‘Et incarnatus est’ from his Mass in C minor is matchless; it lifts you to God! I love Mozart performed by Clara Haskil. Mozart fulfills me. But I cannot think about his music; I have to listen to it.”

Read more: Did a teenage Mozart really transcribe Allegri’s Miserere, after hearing it once in the Vatican?