Some exciting news for music buffs who are also devotees of Pope Francis: To spread his message of hope, faith, and unity, the pope will release a prog rock album this November titled “Wake Up!” (although it occurs to us that “Rock of Ages” would have worked well, too). And, no, this news is not picked up from The Onion.
The LP, approved by the Vatican, was made in collaboration with Believe Digital and features the Pontiff delivering sacred hymns and excerpts of his most moving speeches in Italian, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The album will also include uplifting musical accompaniment ranging from pop-rock to Gregorian chant.
The release date of the album has been set for Nov. 27, with the iTunes pre-order now available with an instant download of “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” You can listen to the track on SoundCloud:
Part of the spoken text is as follows:
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.
