Sixty-two years ago, a young Italian woman named Edi Bocelli, pregnant with her first child, was hospitalized with appendicitis. Her doctors advised her to abort the child because, they said, “the baby would be born with some disability.” A devout Catholic, Edi Bocelli refused, but the doctors’ prognosis was correct. Her son Andrea was born with congenital glaucoma and was completely blind by age 12.
Despite being unable to see, Andrea was born with other gifts. One, in particular, stands out. His voice has been called “the most beautiful in the world.” According to Celine Dion, “if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli.”
In fact, Bocelli’s albums have sold over 90 million copies. His 1999 album “Sacred Arias,” is the biggest selling album by a solo classical artist in history, and his 1996 single, Con te partirò (“With You I Shall Leave”) is one of the biggest selling singles of all time, putting him on a list that includes Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, and Adele. Bocelli has sung for presidents, prime ministers, and popes. He was even named one of the world’s “Fifty Most Beautiful People” by People Magazine.
In 2010, Bocelli told his mother’s story in a video entitled “Andrea Bocelli—His Unknown Story That Touches Hearts.” Sitting at the piano, after describing his mother’s decision to not abort him, he adds, “Maybe I’m partisan, but I can say that it was the right choice.”
Bocelli told an Italian newspaper that he was inspired to share his story by a missionary in Haiti who works with children and women facing difficult pregnancies. “Because of my personal convictions as a devout Catholic,” said Bocelli, “I am not only fighting against something, I am fighting for something – and I am for life.”
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Christian Post, John Stonestreet and Roberto Rivera
BCNN1 WP 