#PopeBars: Twitter writes rhymes for ‘MC Pope Francis’

‘Gold rings, white gown, dishin’ verbal inquisition - I turn this game upside down like Peter’s crucifixion’

Pope Francis gives his blessing during a visit to an internally displaced people camp at St Saviour parish in Bangui on November 29th, 2015. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis gives his blessing during a visit to an internally displaced people camp at St Saviour parish in Bangui on November 29th, 2015. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images

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.

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Dean Ruxton

Dean Ruxton

Dean Ruxton is an Audience Editor at The Irish Times. He also writes the Lost Leads archive series