An Irish choir is preparing to perform at celebrations in Rome this weekend marking the 500th anniversary of the choir of St Peter’s Basilica.

MICHELANGELO di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is one of only a handful of artists whose achievements one might well describe as immortal.

Pope Benedict XVI today marked the 500th anniversary of the laying of the first stone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica, saying he hoped it would awaken Catholics’ desire to be “living cornerstones” of the church’s growth.