There are very few singers who bring me to tears. Andrea Bocelli is among them.
The beauty of this man’s voice is a gift from God. I was a fan of Luciano Pavarotti as was most of the world, but even he did not evoke such deep emotion as to bring me to tears.
But there is a story about Bocelli which most of the world knows little or nothing about. If you have not heard this story, after reading this piece -you will never forget it.
Here is Bocelli telling this story during a concert. It is in Italian with English subtitles:
Andrea Bocelli and Katharine McPhee singing “The Prayer”
From telegraph.co.uk
Andrea Bocelli praises mother for rejecting doctor’s advice to abort
Andrea Bocelli, the blind Italian opera singer, has praised his mother for rejecting the advice of doctors to abort him on the grounds that he would be disabled.
The tenor, who has sold 70 million records worldwide, paid tribute to his mother, Edi, for persevering in her pregnancy during a performance in Italy.
He interrupted a concert to recount the story of a pregnant woman was admitted to hospital with appendicitis.
“The doctors had to apply some ice on her stomach and when the treatments ended the doctors suggested that she abort the child,” said the singer.
“They told her it was the best solution because the baby would be born with some disability.
“But the young brave wife decided not to abort, and the child was born,” he said.
“That woman was my mother, and I was the child.”
He added: “Maybe I’m partisan, but I can say that it was the right choice and I hope that this could encourage many mothers who sometimes might find themselves in difficult situations but want to save the life of their baby.”
Soon after his birth in 1958, Bocelli, 51, was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma, which made him partially blind.
He then lost his vision completely at the age 12, after he was hit on the head during a game of football.
In his tribute, Bocelli did not explain why doctors recommended an abortion at a time when it was still illegal in Italy. The present law dates from 1978. Before then, the procedure was permissible only when the foetus was severely disabled or the mother’s life was in grave danger.
Bocelli also failed to say if his mother underwent surgery for appendicitis nor does he describe the medical condition with which doctors suspected he might be afflicted.
The film of Bocelli’s tribute to his mother was placed on YouTube this week for the first time by the Whole Life Initiative, an American pro-life group. – source
Bocelli sings duet with his son after not performing for 15 years:
Brethren, this is a powerful story which should be used to show women who are contemplating abortion, the the child they are carrying was made by God.
A world without the incredible voice of Andrea Bocelli – I can’t imagine it.
Keep this article. You may have a chance to share it with a woman in distress, who thinks that she has no other option except to abort her child. Most women abort their babies because they are either scared or the birth of the child would be too complicated.
I pray that Bocelli’s story will be told around the world, and will dramatically touch and change the hearts and minds of many women who are thinking that they must end the life of their child.
Shalom b’Yeshua
MARANATHA!