Madonna, who has made a career flouting conventions, customs, and Catholicism cannot be too happy to see her iconic song, “Like a Virgin,” converted into a prayer by the celebrity nun from Italy, Suor Cristina Scuccia.
The 26-year-old Suor Cristina shocked the world last June by winning The Voice, the Italian equivalent of American Idol. Now, she has released the first single from her new album “Sister Cristina,” and it is a doozie.
The religious sister has created a professional music video covering Madonna’s hit “Like a Virgin” as a spiritual canticle, set against the evocative religious architecture and canals of Venice, Italy.
Singing to Jesus, Sister Cristina–literally, a consecrated virgin–has baptized one of Madonna’s most “irreverent” songs, taking her words of virginity literally and applying them to life in the convent.
In an interview with the Italian daily, Avvenire, Sister Cristina says it was her idea to cover “Like a Virgin,” but, she adds, “without any intention of being provocative or scandalous.” When one reads the lyrics, Cristina says, without paying attention to how it was interpreted earlier, one “discover[s] a song about love’s ability to renew a person and rescue them from their past.”
Cristina says that she altered the beat from its original pop dance tune into a romantic ballad, in the style of Amos Lee, saying that it is “closer to a layperson’s prayer than a pop song.”
“I know I have a big responsibility,” she states. “I should be bearing witness. And I am happy to do so. I am really excited about having found Jesus and I would like everyone to find Him.”
“I’m a religious sister,” Cristina asserts, “a sister who wants to tell everyone the joy of having found Jesus through the gifts that He gave me. I would like everyone to discover how much He loves us and how creative He is with each of us.”
Sister Cristina did not earn anything from her victory on The Voice, and she will not get rich even if her new album sells a million copies. “I have taken a vow of poverty,” she says, “and we will use any revenue to help the projects of our religious community.”
A big fan of Pope Francis, Sister Cristina says the Pope is “the best answer I can give to anyone who thinks that I shouldn’t be singing on television.”
The album, Sister Cristina, is set for release in November.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.