"I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin."
- Pope John Paul II
The late Pope John Paul II was a music lover. Many times he invited top music artists such as Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Ricky Martin and many others to perform in concerts and other functions organized by the Vatican.
He invited Bob Dylan - the man behind the song "Blowin' In The Wind" - to perform at the 1997 World Eucharistic Congress which was held at Bologna, Italy. He also invited B.B King, an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist to perform at the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert. A year later, he welcomed Ricky Martin who performed at the 6th annual concert at the Vatican.
In 1999, Pope John Paul II gave his all out support to the campaign of Jubilee 2000, an international coalition movement that called the leaders of rich countries to cancel the debts owed to them by the world's poorest countries. After meeting with the Pope, U2's lead vocalist Bono who was one of the members of the Jubilee organization said, "He's one of the great showmen of the twentieth century. I told him this and he picked up my wraparound shades and put them on. He's great, such grace and humanity. The first funky Pontiff."
cc photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
He invited Bob Dylan - the man behind the song "Blowin' In The Wind" - to perform at the 1997 World Eucharistic Congress which was held at Bologna, Italy. He also invited B.B King, an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist to perform at the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert. A year later, he welcomed Ricky Martin who performed at the 6th annual concert at the Vatican.
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| BONO of U2 |
cc photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
