Four cantors from NJ church to sing for Pope Francis

HAMILTON SQUARE, N.J. (WABC) -- Among those who will see Pope Francis up close and personal are four members of a choir in New Jersey.

They sing at a church in Hamilton Square and will raise their voices for the pope in Philadelphia.

"Our church loves to sing. You see how big the church is and we get everybody singing. That's our role as cantor, to get everybody singing," said Dr. John Shaddy, the music director.

Four of the voices that raise the spirits of parishioners at St. Gregory the Great are practicing for their greatest performance yet, singing before the pope.

Dr. John Shaddy, David Maliakel, Susie Shaddy and Emma Rhine were selected for the honor. Each auditioned and each was chosen from a parish sandwiched between two of Pope Francis's planned visits. For all four, it is a dream come true.

"I thought there would be no way because we're between New York and Philadelphia, so I kept dreaming and hoping," Shaddy said.

Even for these seasoned pros, auditioning with and against hundreds of others put them to the test. They had voice trials and a library of music to perform.

"Everything from Mendelssohn to Beethoven to modern music to pieces written especially for this event," a cantor said.

It was grueling, but they did it. They received the acceptance letters individually back in July.

"I was thinking, okay I probably shouldn't email anyone just in case they didn't make it," Rhine said.

"When I read mine, I went to Susie's office and told her the letters came, and showed her the third paragraph so she wouldn't cry, but I cried anyway, she cried anyway," Shaddy said.

"I was happier that we all got in. That was amazing, ecstatic," Maliakel said. "Happy that we could go as a group and represent our church."

They rehearse with other members of what will be a 250 member choir down at the basilica in Philadelphia, just about every Monday.

They are living a dream and hoping to raise the spirits of hundreds of thousands during the pope's mass in Philadelphia.

"Because that's' what we do here and I want to make it a fuller experience, and being with the pope, it will be," a cantor said.

St. Gregory the Great is the only parish that had all four of their nominees selected for the great choir.

Each parish could send just four members to try out and St. Gregory the Great sent their four cantors.