Roll over Bono and tell Hozier the news - Pope Francis is set to release Wake Up! an album of pop and rock tunes this November 27.
Rolling Stone reports that the debut album from the 78-year-old leader of the Catholic Church will include “sacred hymns and excerpts of his most moving speeches in multiple languages paired with uplifting musical accompaniment ranging from pop-rock to Gregorian chant”.
“For many years, I’ve been the producer and the artistic director of albums by the Pope. I had the honour to work with John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis," Don Giulio Neroni, Wake Up!’s producer and artistic director, has said.
“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. 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.”
Last night the Pope gave a speech at the Festival of Families, a Catholic event held once every three years. Aretha Franklin and Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli were among those who performed.
Have a listen to a track from Wake Up! here.
