Pope Leo XIV: And the music ...?

Today, May 8, he was elected The new Pope: It is the American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, chosen as 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church, who took the name of Leone XIV. Born in Chicago on September 14, 1955, Robert Francis Prevost is 69 years old and is the first North American Pope in the history of the Church. We know of him who belongs to the order of Sant’Agostino and was a missionary in Peru, where he served as a bishop of Chiclayo. We do not know much of his possible connections of a musical nature, but based on a few already known elements we welcome him by building the three of them.

De Music

The first connection is inspired by the fact that Prevost is an Augustinian and Sant’Agostino was one of the first Christian thinkers to reflect in depth on the spiritual power of music. The famous phrase attributed to him, “I do not like what I see, but what I hear” (from “de Musica”) and his idea that musical harmony reflected the divine order can open an ideal bond between the theological system of the new Pontiff and the profound meaning of music as the language of the soul. From the United States to Peru in Rome, what influences can he immediately have, what kinds can he have listened to? For the record, the Pope has the age of Mick Jones of Clash, Billy Idol and Angus Young …

XIV

The second connection is instead based on number 14, both that of its date of birth and the one that characterizes the name it has chosen as a pontiff. In particular, looking for artists and musicians who share the birthday with the pontiff, we realized that it is in good and varied company. Among them we point out: Amy Winehouse, iconic voice of the new white soul disappeared in 2011; The US rapper Nas, a gray (!) Hip hop eminent; And, last but not least, the Caliph: Franco Califano was born on September 14, 1938 on a plane that flocked Tripoli, in Libya.

Chicago

The third connection can only be inspired by the birthplace of Robert Francis Prevost, one of the musical cities par excellence and among the strongholds of the blues. The pontiff comes precisely from the South Side of the Illinois metropolis, so here is an ad hoc compilation inspired by Windy City:

“Chicago” – Frank Sinatra