A peek into Pope Francis’ massive music collection

According to a report from Catholic News Service, curiosity about the pope’s musical tastes began three years ago when Pope Francis broached the subject with Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. The pope sent the prelate a handful of CDs, citing the cardinal’s own love of music, and the pair began exchanging their favorite tunes.  

Cardinal Ravasi told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera:

Cardinal Ravasi soon began a three-year effort to catalog and curate Pope Francis’ collection. The agglomerate currently includes some 1,728 CDs and 19 record albums. Some of them were gifts presented to the pope by the faithful, while others reflect his direct interests. 

The cardinal listed some of the selections among Pope Francis’ collection, including Édith Piaf’s greatest hits, Argentine tango tunes by Astor Piazzolla and a 25-disc collection of Elvis Presley’s Gospel songs. While the works by secular artists catch the eye, the majority of albums are some of the finest works by classical composers like Mozart and Bach. 

Still, the wide variety of genres hints at Pope Francis’ deep love of music. Cardinal Ravasi went so far as to confirm the pope’s predilection for an eclectic assortment of sounds when he mentioned the notes. Apparently, Pope Francis includes handwritten notes on some of the albums he sent to Ravasi, showing not only that he listened to the works, but that he also analyzed them. 

Classic FM notes that among Pope Francis’ favorite classical works are two of the greatest Masses ever written. The first is J.S. Bach’s “Mass in B Minor,” considered to be one of the composer's greatest masterpieces. The piece is hailed as one of the finest achievements of Classical music and was particularly inspirational to the works of Johann Forkel and Joseph Hayden. 

Nestled beside Bach on the Pope’s shelf is an equally esteemed composition from Mozart. Wolfgang’s  “Mass in C Minor” is only eclipsed by his “Requiem” which was completed posthumously. The work is especially personal to the composer and reflects on his relationship with God. This Mass was composed on Mozart’s own initiative, as he was not commissioned for the work. 

A 2016 report from Aleteia notes that one of Pope Francis’ favorite singers is the Argentine soprano Haudée Dabusti, sometimes referred to as “Maria Callas of Buenos Aires.” In the video featured above she can be seen singing circles around a lesser-known “Ave Maria” by 19th-century Italian composer Pietro Mascagni. 

You can take the pope out of Argentina, but you can’t take Argentina out of the pope. One of Pope Francis’ favorite styles is the tango. This style of music was developed in Argentina and Uruguay. It was brought about by combining regional folk music with European classical dancehall fare. Among the pope’s collection are several albums from Carlos Gardel, Julio Rosa and Ada Falcon.

The pope’s love of music runs so deep that he even released an album of his own, in 2015. The album, titled “Wake Up,” contains a collection of instrumental tunes with Latin chant mixed in. The pope technically performs on the album, although instead of singing they use recordings of his speeches placed before tracks of pop and rock music. 

Like any music aficionado, Pope Francis is always on the lookout for some new tunes to add to the collection. In January 2022, he was spotted visiting a record store not far from Vatican City, a shop he’s frequented since before he was pope. According to Aleteia’s own Kathleen Hattrup, the pontiff blessed the newly renovated store and left with a vinyl record clutched protectively under his arm. 

Of the new record, Cardinal Ravasi said: