Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his name day with a concert of Beethoven symphonies led by Daniel Barenboim on Wednesday.
The maestro led the West-Eastern Divan, a youth orchestra made up of Israeli and Arab musicians, at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome.
Benedict said in a speech, "Music unites people beyond every division."
The concert was also attended by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and his wife.
The Argentine-born Israeli conductor founded the orchestra in 1999 with the late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said.
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