Tenor Luciano Lamonarca, with his son Sebastian and his wife Valentina
On Sunday, July 27, 2025, accompanied by the roar of a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience in the Auditorium Conciliazione at the Vatican, Italian tenor and Westchester County resident Luciano Lamonarca received the prize for “Best Male Singer” at the Catholic Music Awards 2025 with his performance of the English version of “La Canzone di San Pio” (“The Song of Saint Pio”). The event was live streamed worldwide from the Vatican.
The tenor said he was honored to have received this prize, known as the “Grammy” of Catholic music. He dedicated his victory to his wife Valentina, his son Sebastian, and above all to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who inspired the song and to whom the tenor is always grateful for his constant presence through the highs and lows of his life. In recording this song-prayer, tenor Lamonarca wanted to express his deepest hope that his voice could serve as a humble instrument for all those who seek comfort and place their trust in this holy man.
The tenor also thanked producer Fabio Carini for co-producing the music video, musician Laurie Adamo for the song’s arrangement, and the family of the song’s composer, who granted the tenor the exclusive use of the song. Rico Garofalo composed the song in 1968 to commemorate the passing of Padre Pio, now known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. It is regarded as the most beautiful musical tribute to the saint.
At the opening of the ceremony, lifetime achievement awards were presented to distinguished figures in the world of music, including the famous tenor Andrea Bocelli and Monsignor Marco Frisina, Musical Director of the Pia Lateranense Chapel Choir.
The Catholic Music Awards is an innovative initiative that celebrates artistic and spiritual excellence in four languages: Spanish, English, Italian, and Portuguese. The selection process involves a rigorous evaluation by an international jury composed of experts from both the music and pastoral worlds, who evaluate each work based on its artistic merit, technical excellence, and evangelical content.
For this First Edition of the Awards, there were more than 1,452 participants from more than twenty-five different countries, evaluated by 68 judges.
The acclaimed Tenor Luciano Lamonarca has built an international reputation for his elegant musicianship and his fluid, resonant voice that best exemplifies the Italian Bel Canto style. While he has sung in many countries around the world, he has performed most frequently in the United States and Italy.
Luciano has been interviewed frequently and featured in numerous articles from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Daily News, The New York Post, Fox News, NBC, CBS, News 12, RAI Uno, RAI Tre, RAI International, The Italian Times, The Italian Tribune, Italia! magazine (in Russian,) La Repubblica, America Oggi, Quotidiano.Net and Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues, among them being Lincoln Center, New York Theater for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, United Nations General Assembly, Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium, Madison Square Garden, Palais Liechtenstein Museum (Vienna, Austria), The Great Hall of the Palace National Philharmonic Orchestra (Minsk, Belarus), and Teatro Politeama (Palermo, Italy).
He has performed under the patronage of the highest national and international institutions – the United Nations, UNESCO, the European Union, the Presidency of the Italian Republic, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Ministry of Youth, and many more. Because of his involvement in numerous charitable causes, his commitment to making art with a purpose, and having performed in more than three hundred benefit concerts and events in the span of a little over a decade, Luciano Lamonarca became known as “The Goodwill Tenor.”
For his constant and tireless commitment to spreading the Christian faith through national and international performances, he was bestowed the first “Christmas Award” at the Chamber of the Italian Parliament.
