1560: The first children are castrated for use in the Sistine Chapel Choir. 1589: Pope Sixtus V issues a papal Bull approving the recruitment of castrati By 1625 all sopranos in the Sistine Chapel choir are castrati. During the 17th and 18th centuries in Italy, some 4,000 - 5,000 boys aged between 7 and 9 were castrated annually for the Church.