Anyone who’s ever read Pope Francis’ writings knows his flair for lyricism. Take the following passage from his “Laudato Si’”:
“Through our worship of God, we are invited to embrace the world on a different plane. Water, oil, fire, and colors are taken up in all their symbolic power and incorporated in our act of praise.”
This week, the Internet decided to help the Holy Father with his lyrics, just in case he ever decides to drop a rap album (and honestly, who knows with Pope Francis? He’s full of surprises. He did release a prog-rock album recently — truly.)
The inspiration for the Internet’s collective creativity was the below picture, in which Pope Francis looks like he’s about to spit holy fire.
And Twitter, the Internet’s bastion of pith, wit, and general silliness, had some amazing responses, including from luminaries like Lin-Manuel Miranda (who, as anyone who’s listened to the Hamilton soundtrack would tell you, knows a thing or two about rap battles):
as i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i take a look at my life and realize i'm @pontifex #popebars pic.twitter.com/B4goCfYrCR
— brent (@brntrydn) November 30, 2015
Lyrical cataclysm Miracle catechism Smack em w that epistle Then Back to the Vaticizzle #PopeBars
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 30, 2015
@tanehisicoates "Yea, I sampled your sermon, you were doin it wrong. You made it a hot prayer I made it a hot psalm" #PopeBars
— Kylo Ren the Jewels (@Jarrettjawn) November 30, 2015
I excite the press Give cardinals stress Confuse some peeps And thrill the rest #PopeBarspic.twitter.com/RBY8TzDYvU
— Jonathan Merritt (@JonathanMerritt) November 30, 2015
you say "hocus pocus" check my "hoc est corpus" Mass-ive game, mos def chalice got handles like Steph #PopeBars pic.twitter.com/izJms33wF7
— Michael Peppard (@MichaelPeppard) December 1, 2015
I got enemies! Got a lot of enemies! Got a lot of sinners trying to drain me of this energy! #PopeBars pic.twitter.com/ZPiM3CnV6f
— The Black Hokage (@Mr_iKeepitreal) November 30, 2015
Follow the hashtag #PopeBars to read the thousands of lines to your heart’s content. You can also read more here at the Washington Post.
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