Holy moly: The Pope releases debut single "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!"

If you like soft ecclesiastical rock songs, then boy, Pope Francis has a banger for you.

"Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!" features on the Pope's upcoming debut album Wake Up!. It features spoken word passages and proggy solos, stadium-sized drums and metal organs.

The LP apparently sees Pope Francis, speaking in Italian, English, Spanish, and Portuguese, tackle topics like "peace, dignity, environmental concerns and helping those most in need."

Producer/artistic director Don Giulio Neroni says to Rolling Stone: "For many years, I've been the producer and the artistic director of albums by the Pope. I had the honor to work with John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. As in the past, for this album too, I tried to be strongly faithful to the pastoral and personality of Pope Francis: the Pope of dialogue, open doors, hospitality. For this reason, the voice of Pope Francis in Wake Up! dialogues music. And contemporary music (rock, pop, Latin etc.) dialogues with the Christian tradition of sacred hymns."

Tony Pagliuca, a musician who composed several of the songs (including the first single) added: "In the Seventies, I founded the prog-rock band Le Orme and topped the charts, toured Italy and U.K. and had the chance to collaborate with international artists like Peter Hammil and David Jackson (Van Der Graaf Generator). During the years, I also made an important journey of faith. When Don Giulio Neroni asked me to collaborate on this CD, I immediately accepted with enthusiasm. Putting my music in the service of the words and the voice of Pope Francis has been a fantastic experience and a very interesting artistic challenge."

Listen to the track now on Rolling Stone.

Tracklist:

1. Annuntio Vobis Gadium Mangum
2. Salve Regina
3. Laudato Sie…
4. Poe Que' Sufren Los Ninos
5. Non Lasciatevi Rubare La Speranza!
6. La Iglesia No Puede Ser Una Ong!
7. Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!
8. La Fa Es Entera, No Se Licua!
9. Pace! Fratelli!
10. Per La Famiglia
11. Fazei O Que Ele Vos Disser

The pope is dope

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) September 24, 2015