Some people already thought Pope Francis rocked because of his views on the environment, commitment to interfaith dialogue and some remarks he’s made regarding LGBT issues.
There’s also the fact that between performing for large crowds, bringing hordes of strangers to tears simply by their presence, leading people in worship and healing souls, popes in general have a ton of things in common with popular musicians.
And now, his holiness is a rock star, literally. That’s right, Pope Francis has a new album dropping this November.
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The pop-rock (or should we say pope-rock?) record, Wake Up! was produced by Don Giulio Neroni and will feature 11 tracks of Pope Francis’ spoken-word messages in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
We love that the pope is trying to reach younger generations and cross cultural barriers through music, and we’re even digging his first single “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” that came out this week.
But, cards on the table, we’re also LOLing at the clever reactions to the newly released song that we’re seeing across the interwebs.
Here are some of our favorites from Twitter and SoundCloud.
Speaking of collabing, we’ve also seen a movement of social media users begging for a pope/contemporary artist collaboration and, frankly, the idea is genius. Here are a couple musicians at the top of our list that we’d like to see the pope mix it up with.
1. Queen B
He’s already been dubbed the “Beyoncé of holy leaders” by Mashable, so it’s only natural that they work together.
2. Lady Gaga
This pick is inspired by SoundCloud user rororor’s excitement about the pope’s single.
Of course, we automatically free-associated Pope Francis with Mother Monster because of this comment.
3. Matisyahu
What do you get when you mix the ultimate Catholic with an Orthodox Jewish rapper and a touch of reggae? Well, besides perfection, a Pope Francis and Matisyahu remix, of course.
4. Lil Dicky
This suggestion comes straight from @DanNerdCubed on Twitter.
We’re not sure how this would go down, but Lil Dicky is intent on making the most epic rap video ever, so we’re pretty sure he’d be willing to give it a whirl.
5. Skrillex
Just based on Pope Francis’ Twitter handle @Pontifex alone, this would be a match made in heaven. Skrillex featuring Pontifex — it totally works.
More: Susan Sarandon morbidly predicts Pope Francis will be assassinated in America
6. Pandora’s Pope and Hip Hop Power Workout station
OK, it’s not really a collaboration per se, but you should still add this song to your workout playlist, pronto. If the pope can’t get you through your cardio session, then nothing can.
7. Chvrches
From the mind of @jackmenner, the beauty of this suggestion is in its simplicity.
Guys, the could tour together and play to crowds in actual churches. The Pope Presents: The Chvrch Tour. It would be bigger than Taylor Swift’s 1989.
8. Win Butler
A Mormon/Catholic mashup? Love it! The Arcade Fire front man and Pope Francis may have different religious standpoints, but they both lived in Buenos Aires when they were young, so they’ll totally have stuff they can relate to each other about.
Listen to Pope Francis’ new track on SoundCloud here.
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