Madonna along with several other famous faces, including Justin Bieber and Angelina Jolie, have been found to be related to the Pope – and the Queen of Pop had a hilarious reaction to the news
It appears Like a Prayer has taken on a whole new meaning for the Queen of Pop, Madonna.
The iconic singer, along with several other famous faces, has been found to be related to the Pope through a common Canadian ancestor, Louis Boucher de Grandpre. Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Louis links the Pope to various “Canadian-derived distant cousins,” including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Jack Kerouac, and Pierre and Justin Trudeau.
A new interactive article by Henry Louis Gates Jr. in The New York Times, in collaboration with American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, made the astonishing discovery. The article delved into Pope Leo XIV’s family tree, exploring both his maternal and paternal lineage.
Madonna herself was over the moon upon learning of her connection to the Pope. She shared a screenshot of the news on X, followed by a black-and-white photo of herself and her father Silvio Ciccone reacting to the news on her Instagram Stories on Monday, June 16.
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In the photo, Silvio is seated, while Madonna strikes a pose with her hands raised, captioning it, “Silvio, We’re related to the Pope! Strike a pose!” Even before Madonna’s link to Pope Leo, she had ties to Catholicism. Raised as a Catholic, with Veronica as her confirmation name, she now “cultivates” her “spiritual practices.”
Over the years, she has embraced various religions, including Kabbalah, Judaism, and Sufism. However, Catholicism has remained a constant in Madonna’s life, with its iconography featuring prominently in her music career. She is often credited with popularising the use of the cross as a decorative item in pop music, reports the Mirror US.
The 66 year old star has faced accusations of blasphemy, sacrilege, and iconoclasm throughout her career due to her use and portrayal of Catholic imagery. Her 1989 song ‘Like A Prayer’, which featured burning crosses and erotic depictions of Jesus, drew criticism from the Vatican.
Pope John Paul II even called for a boycott of her Blond Ambition tour.
In 2023, Madonna challenged the Catholic Church in her Vanity Fair cover shoot, where she posed as the Virgin Mary and incorporated other religious symbols throughout the issue, such as the 12 apostles. Reflecting on the Vatican’s reaction to ‘Like a Prayer’ and the calls to boycott her tour, she expressed surprise at being targeted by the Church, stating they failed to understand how her work was “shocked to see myself being attacked by the Church, because they weren’t able to understand how much my work was trying to produce something good.”
She also took to Twitter in 2015 to message Pope Francis, saying, “I’m a good Catholic. I swear! I mean I don’t Swear! Its been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters?”I’ve been excommunicated three times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely, Madonna. “”.
On 8 May, American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church following a conclave. The 69 year old cardinal is now known as Pope Leo and is the first American Pope.
Pope Leo has taken over from Pope Francis after his passing on 21 April at the age of 88. His death was caused by a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and heart failure.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
