Apparently Pope Francis had ulterior motives for his first-ever trip to the United States. In addition to holding mass at Madison Square Garden, canonizing a new saint, and eating some fried chicken, the 266th Pontifex of the Catholic Church is promoting his new album of prog-rock music, and I’m not even kidding.

As Rolling Stone reports, Wake Up! is the title of Pope Francis’ debut album, due out November 27th. And if you think this is a load of bullshit, iTunes pre-orders are ongoing.



Spanning 11 tracks, the album juxtaposes excerpts of Pope Francis’ most moving speeches in multiple languages alongside original music composed by Don Giulio Neroni and Tony Pagliuca of the prog-rock band Le Orme.

The first single “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” is streaming below.