On his tour of Africa, Pope Francis gave a blessing at a refugee camp in St Savoir in Bangui, Central African Republic on Sunday. Thankfully for those on social media, he accidentally struck a straight-up hip-hop pose as he did.
A photo of the blessing shows Pope Francis with a mic raised, cool expression and his hands up. It has been shared widely on Facebook and Twitter, accompanied by some pretty hilarious Christianity-inspired rap verses.
#PopeBars then popped up on Twitter, as did a steady flow of rhymes - here are some of the highlights:
Gold rings, white gown
Dishin verbal inquisition
I turn this game upside down
Like Peter’s crucifixion.
(Jonah Branding @JonahBranding)
Mary and Joseph...I ‘ship that,
Blood of Christ...I sip that.
Staying out on Saturday cuz,
Sunday school...I skip that.
(Vincent Marcus @VincentMarcus)
Psalms are sweaty
Knees weak from genuflecting
Vomit on his vestment already
Mother Teresa’s spaghetti.
(Riley Burns @RiiiLeY_Burns)
It was all a dream
I used to read Luke 4:17
Virgin Mary and Moses
looking over my papal mezzanine.
(Clint Smith @ClintSmithIII)
Yo holy water I splash that
Collection plates I cash that
Heal the sick no hazmat
Your sins I forgot that.
(Idk why I @HatefulNateful)
All other MCs
Your rhymes are spent
You’re Martin Luther
And I’m the Council of Trent.
(Serpent Socialite @walrusmaster)
This isn't the pope's first link with the music biz, as a prog-rock collaboration album featuring some of his recorded hymns and speeches was released on iTunes last month.