VATICAN CITY, Rome — In a recorded message at the recent celebration of the Italian Sanremo Festival, Pope Francis focused his attention on the importance of using music to build peace in a world filled with wars and conflict that “destroy children.”

At the opening of the annual Italian music festival at the Ariston Theater in Sanremo, host and artistic director Carlo Conti announced that a 'surprise' guest would share a message that was not listed on the schedule for the 75th edition of the festivities.

It turned out that the surprise was none other than Pope Francis, whose focus in his shared message shifted from the who’s who list of musicians and attendees and called the attention to the important role music in creating world peace.

The 88-year-old pontiff from Argentina recorded a video message from Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican, echoing Conti's declaration that "music is a language that speaks to all" while explaining, too, that music “is (also) a tool for peace.”

Music, the Pope highlighted, “is a language that all peoples, in different ways, speak, and it reaches the heart of everyone. Music can help the coexistence of peoples.”

Immediately after the papal message, a performance meant to exemplify this was held with Israeli singer Noa and Palestinian singer Mira Awad performing a duet in Hebrew, Arabic and English to the tune of John Lrnnon's classic song 'Imagine'.

Pope Francis likewise called attention to the violence around the world even as he addressed the reality that there are “many children who cannot sing,” not because they cannot hold a tune but because they “cry and suffer from the many injustices in the world, from the many wars, and situations of conflict.”

“Wars destroy children,” the pontiff pointed out while citing that what he most desires is “to see those who have hated each other shake hands, embrace and say with life, music and song: peace is possible!”

The Pope also recalled that he shared the stage with the Sanremo Festival host last year at the Olympic Stadium in Rome for World Children’s Day, where he also dedicated a message to the care for the world's children. He described the event as a “beautiful moment” that he has kept “in his heart."