With Philadelphia under martial law – I guess for the protection of Pope Francis – there’s plenty of time to stay indoors and enjoy some papal trivia.

Charles Gounod, perhaps most famous for that great devil opera, “Faust,” composed this “Pontifical March” in 1869 to mark the golden jubilee of Pope Pius IX’s priestly ordination. 80 years later, Pope Pius XII decided to make it the Vatican City’s official “hymn,” replacing Viktorin Hallmayer’s “Marcia trionfale” (composed in 1857). The first eight bars are played whenever the Vatican’s flag is raised.

In 1949, Antonio Allegra, an organist at St. Peter’s Basilica, provided an Italian text to be sung to the anthem. In 1991, Raffaello Lavagna, a Catholic priest from Savona, composed Latin lyrics for four-part choir.

Here it is, in all its pontifical pomp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FDB6JZXfZQ

If you’re interested, here’s Hallmayer’s original, which I imagine would sound really great on a calliope:

You can learn more about the “Pontifical Anthem” here:

http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/note-generali/inno.html

Naturally, as the city’s premiere musical institution, the Philadelphia Orchestra will be getting in on the act, performing at two events during Francis’ visit. The orchestra will appear as part of a massive concert on the Ben Franklin Parkway, which will take place tonight from 5:30 to 9:45. Andrea Bocelli will be there. So will Aretha Franklin. The orchestra will perform from about 7:30 to the end.

Then tomorrow, the orchestra will participate in an open air Papal Mass. It will deliver a musical prelude at 3. During the Mass, which begins at 4, the orchestra will provide relevant musical interludes. And then, beginning at around 6:10, the orchestra will perform a postlude. The Mass will include a 500 member choir. Since you’ll never be able to get close, you might as well be thankful for the streaming, which you can enjoy by way of the links provided here:

https://www.philorch.org/blog/news/watch-philadelphia-orchestra-festival-families-concert-and-papal-mass#/

Here’s the playlist for the Papal Mass. Quite a hodgepodge, if I do say so myself.

http://wrti.org/post/performing-pope-francis-and-world-moment-history-philadelphia-orchestra#stream/0

I wonder what the Pope thinks of it all. In private, he turns out to be a rather cultivated figure:

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/pope-reveals-his-tastes-classical-music/

It’s interesting to see Caravaggio on his list of favorites. Pope Paul V issued a death warrant for the artist after the fatal castration of one of his foes during a street brawl. Then again, by all accounts Wagner wasn’t such a nice guy, either.

For the past few weeks my thoughts have been flashing back to Pope John Paul II and Father Guido Sarducci. Am I the only one who remembers this, I wonder?

PHOTOS: Jolly Charles Gounod (left) and Pope Francis