Pope Francis’ rock album will awaken many

We all know that Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, is beloved by scores of religious, and even secular, people around the world. His visit to the U.S. last week demonstrated that to a great extent. And, as of Nov. 27, rock fans around the world will have one more reason to love him. Next month, the People’s Pope will release, in collaboration with Believe Digital, an album entitled Wake Up!.

I can’t say that I saw this coming. But I probably should have after seeing this viral picture of the pope about to drop some sick lines and presumably his bodyguard in the background about to provide him with the best beat ever.

This Vatican-approved LP will feature sacred hymns and none other than the pope himself. His inspirational words from speeches he has delivered around the world will take center stage as enlivening musical accompaniments and Gregorian chants delight us as well.

After hearing “Wake up! Go! Go! Forward!”, a track from the album premiered in Rolling Stone, I have to be honest — I absolutely love it. The music’s uplifting lyrics and dramatic guitar opening moved me to tears. Well, almost moved me to tears. Come on, go! Forward! Hear it for yourself.

This specific track contains words from a speech Pope Francis gave to a South Korean audience in English last year. The pope proclaimed, “No one who sleeps can sing, dance and rejoice.” Then, with a sort of beauty to the ears and touch to the heart, he urges each and every one of us to wake up and go do what we desire most. This, to me, is such a beautiful message. If I loved this specific track, I can’t wait to see how much I will love the others. The rest of the album will have tracks in other languages, among them Italian and Spanish, and talk about issues such as peace, dignity and the environment.

These issues seem well suited given that the Argentine pope has unified people from different religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds with his messages of acceptance for gay people, environmental protections for areas damaged by unsustainability and help for the homeless. It is this message of respect and love for every human being on this planet that will resound throughout this album.

I do find myself sometimes being critical of the Church’s stance on certain issues, just like many people do. This album, however, is the right move on the part of the Vatican because I feel such a bigger connection with the pope himself. His message is universal, crossing the boundaries of different religious beliefs. So, on Nov. 27, buy this album because we all do need some inspiration once in a while.