The Documentary Podcast When music became a prayer
Feb 27, 2026
Yirui Weng, a concert pianist from Hangzhou who studied in Italy and converted to Catholicism after encountering sacred music. She recounts a transformative moment with Vivaldi's Gloria. Conversations cover churches and art in Italy, learning prayer and catechesis in Milan, how faith reshaped her relationship with performance, and baptism as a moment of acceptance and grace.
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Italian Churches Turned Curiosity Into Study
- In Rome, passing churches and seeing silent worshippers triggered curiosity that led Yirui to study Bible stories systematically.
- Italy's abundance of biblical art and quiet churches pushed her from curiosity to enrolling in catechism and asking theological questions.
Vivaldi Moment That Sparked A Faith Journey
- Yirui Weng describes an epiphany when she encountered Vivaldi's Gloria during a sacred music course in Milan.
- The piece's shift from splendour to sorrow, especially Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi, exposed her to questions about 'Lamb of God' and began her faith journey.
Home Church Feels Familiar While Rome Feels Meditative
- Back in Hangzhou and other Chinese cities, Yirui seeks out churches first and joins a 400-member Catholic youth group.
- She contrasts Chinese masses' familiarity and communal language with the meditative Italian services.