Francis Emerges as Party Pope

By Morton Silverstein
The Catholic Science Monitor

Just weeks after taking office as the 266th pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio — now Pope Francis — has established his reputation as the “party pope.” He’s traded his red Prada shoes for red high-top Converse, evidence that this is a church on the move.

Pope joins the Wicked Sisters of Mercy in their public debut at the Europa Multiclub this weekend. Photo by Lizanne Webb – Rome Bureau.

Some say he’s brought some of that South American spirit to his new job as CEO of world’s Catholics. Others say he’s just more in tune with the modern world than his predecessors. Still others cynically accuse him of doing it all as a public relations gesture.

Or maybe he just likes to have a good time.

Regardless of what pundits may speculate about, the pontiff receives his instructions directly from God, and apparently last week God told him to play a concert with the Wicked Sisters of Mercy, an all-nun rock band that was secretly formed during the first weeks of Pope Benedict’s papacy.

The Wicked Sisters remained underground for seven years, practicing their instruments secretly, pretending to be going to choir practice, and sometimes rehearsing in a forgotten catacomb amidst the bones of saints. They played their first open concert this weekend at the Europa Multiclub, the world-famous spa and sauna located on Holy See property just a few blocks from St. Peters.

The concert was reviewed favorably in the Italian press. “Pope Francis blends his classical training as a liturgical singer with the best of New Wave and Europop,” according to the review in Romana Gioco, one of the premier Italian entertainment magazines.

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