Pop/rock Band Invites to Mission

The “Banda Missio” performed at the “Hi God” of Braga on November 3 with a concert-prayer on the Year of Faith. “We are available – says 50 year old Fr. Leonel Claro – to animate other concert-prayer events, anywhere. It is enough to contact us. We are ready.”

“The ‘concert-prayer’, explains the missionary includes music of the band tied to the theme of faith, with some biblical texts and texts from the document the Door of Faith, besides videos and moments of silence. All the texts and the music may be followed on a Power point presentation. We also have a script for anyone who might be interested.” The concert is divided in three moments: Crisis of faith; encounter with Jesus Christ; Commitment and mission. It can be held in churches, in chapels or in parish halls. It is always in a climate of prayer. “It is a good opportunity to underline a special moment during the Year of Faith, for parishes, groups, movements, catechetical days, etc.”, says Fr. Leonel.

The “Banda Missio” was formed in April 2009 on the occasion of a youth gathering in Maia, Portugal, but the true baptism of fire took place during the pilgrimage of the Comboni Family to Fatima, in July 2009, in the auditorium Paul VI.

It was born by the inspiration of Fr. Leonel Claro, who is also a member of the band, as a project of the Youth Vocation Center (CVJ) of the Comboni Missionaries, of which Fr. Leonel is in charge. The purpose of the band is to utilize the possibilities and the beauty of music for promotion, formation and evangelization, especially among the young, but also among adults, in the Christian communities and parishes. They are musical compositions that call to vocation and, in a special way, to mission, in a constant invitation to go, to risk, to allow Christ to meet us, to go meet the others. The band counts already the participation to hundreds of events in the main cities of the center and the north of Portugal and has already received many awards. In 2010, at the festival Jota at Paredes de Coura, it was chosen as the band-revelation of the “Teu Palco.” Always in 2010, among the awards promoted by the Kerygma association, it won the Evangelization award 2010 (with a vote held on line). The musical pieces are all original compositions of the band, except very few, belonging to other authors or musical groups, that are chosen on purpose to create an exchange in the panorama of Portuguese music of Christian inspiration.