Pope Francis Is Releasing A Pop-Rock Album, For Real

This is not a drill. Pope Francis is releasing a pop-rock album titled Wake Up!, and Rolling Stone has exclusively released the first track. “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” incorporates audio from the Pope addressing a South Korean audience last year in English backed by electric guitars, synths and powerful horns. Stream it below.

The prog-rock album sees the Pope spreading his message of hope, faith and unity in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese across 11 tracks. The album is set to be released in November.

“As in the past, for this album too, I tried to be strongly faithful to the pastoral and personality of Pope Francis: the Pope of dialogue, open doors, hospitality,” said the Pope’s producer and artistic director Don Giulio Neroni. “For this reason, the voice of Pope Francis in Wake Up! dialogues music. And contemporary music (rock, pop, Latin etc.) dialogues with the Christian tradition of sacred hymns.” Neroni has worked with John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis.

The Pope is currently touring the United States, spreading the message of the gospel, speaking to congress, and dining with our homeless. 

Wake Up! Track List

1. “Annuntio Vobis Gadium Mangum”
2. “Salve Regina”
3. “Laudato Sie…”
4. “Poe Que’ Sufren Los Ninos”
5. “Non Lasciatevi Rubare La Speranza!”
6. “La Iglesia No Puede Ser Una Ong!”
7. “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!”
8. “La Fa Es Entera, No Se Licua!”
9. “Pace! Fratelli!”
10. “Per La Famiglia”
11. “Fazei O Que Ele Vos Disser”

[Via Rolling Stone]