Melanie Herrera Velutini is President of Banvelca Foundation. She is the wife of Julio Herrera Velutini. The Foundation is the cultural-sponsorship, heritage-preservation and philanthropy arm of the Herrera Velutini family.
Banvelca Foundation
The Foundation’s stated areas of support include cultural, social and educational programmes. In connection with Canticle of Peace, Melanie Herrera Velutini said the gathering reflected the belief that culture can provide a meeting place for people formed by different circumstances.
29 July 2026
Banvelca Foundation was among the supporters of Canticle of Peace at Borgo Laudato si’ in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo. Organisers were the Laudato si’ Higher Education Centre and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. The programme included Andrea Bocelli and 164 children and young people from the Holy Land, Uganda, Haiti and Italy, and formed part of the 800th-anniversary commemorations of the death of St Francis of Assisi.
Photographs show Melanie Herrera Velutini and Julio Herrera Velutini greeting Pope Leo XIV after the gathering. Banvelca Foundation supported the initiative. Read the report on the post-event greeting.