The Pope has been super busy touring the northeast, making stops in Washington D.C. to hang with Barack, New York City to speak at Madison Square Garden, and is currently making his way through Philadelphia. But in the wake of his busy schedule, the Catholic figure has made time to drop a single.
No, there is not a typo. Pope Francis has made time to head to the studio and record a single called "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!" that will appear on his upcoming album "Wake Up!" in November. Proceeds are said to benefit a refugee support fund.
The first track off the LP is a contemporary pop-rock song. It features Pope Francis' voice saying "Wake up / Wake up/The Lord speaks of a responsibility that the Lord gives you / It is a duty to be vigilant / Not to allow the pressures, the temptations and the sins to dull our sensibility of the beauty of holiness" over synths, electric guitars, horns, and cymbal crashes.
Listen to it on Soundcloud.
"Wake Up!'s" producer and artistic director Don Giulio Neroni told Rolling Stone he has worked with previous Popes and their musical messages. "For many years, I've been the producer and the artistic director of albums by the Pope. I had the honor to work with John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis," Neroni said.
He also advised the musical composition reflects that of the current Pope, thus he geared Francis towards a contemporary genre. "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.
The 11-track LP discussing peace, dignity, the environment, and helping those in need in English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, will hit stores Nov. 27.
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"