Vatican City ? A 9-year-old Canadian boy who suffers from a birth defect that affected his hearing sang for Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday during an audience with Canadian bishops.

Jeremy Gabriel, born with Treacher Collins syndrome, which often results in hearing problems, said he was “very nervous” at first because his family had been stuck in traffic and almost was late to the Vatican.

Gabriel, who has become something of a celebrity in his native Quebec, previously has sung with Celine Dion in Las Vegas.