Pope Francis to release a rock album

With a fan base of millions, a consistently jam-packed tour schedule, and an almost permanent place in the headlines, it's easy to see howPope Francis got his "rock star" nickname.

Who'd have thoughthe would live up to it in a literal sense?

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Pope Francis will be releasing his first ever,Vatican-approved rock albumWake Up!in November.

Rolling Stone was first to report on the story Friday morning,writingthat the Argentine-bornpontiff's progressive rockLP will feature him"delivering sacred hymns and excerpts of his most moving speeches in multiple languages paired with uplifting musical accompaniment ranging from pop-rock to Gregorian chant."

The 11-track album will purportedlytouch oneverything from environmental issues to the importance of helping those in need, with Pope Francis speaking to listeners in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"I tried to be strongly faithful to the pastoral and personality of Pope Francis: the pope of dialogue, open doors, hospitality," the records's producerand artistic director, DonGiulioNeroni, said toRolling Stone. "For this reason, the voice of Pope Francis inWake Up!dialogues music. And contemporary music (rock, pop, Latin etc.) dialogues with the Christian tradition of sacred hymns."

As unusual as the idea ofpapal prog-rock may seem, Neroni explained that Francis is not, in fact, the first pope to headline his own album.

The Italian composer has worked on musical recordings in the past with Pope BenedictXVI (who released Alma Mater: Music from the Vatican in 2009) andPope John Paul II (who released two albums during his time as pontiff:1999'sAbba Pater and 2007'sSanto Subito!)

The first release under Pope Francis's name will be markedly different, however,from those released by previous popes in terms of its musical composition. Musician Tony Pagliuca, who collaborated with Neroni on the album, explained toRolling Stone that his own style is influenced by the time hespent playing for prog-rock bands and touring with artists like PeterHammil and David Jacksonin the 1970s.

Pagliuca composed several of the songs on Wake Up!, including its firstsingle, which was released by the record labelBelieve DigitalonSoundcloud Friday morning.

The trackWake Up! Go! Go! Forward!samples a speech Pope Francis gave to an audience in South Korea last year.

"Wake up, Wake up," he says in English during the song. "The Lord speaks of a responsibility that the Lord gives you / It is a duty to be vigilant / Not to allow the pressures, the temptations and the sins to dull our sensibility of the beauty of holiness."

The album is now available for pre-order in the iTunes store, but papal prog-rock fans won't get to hear it until it's released onNov. 27.

Pope Francis, who was on the fourth dayof his six-dayU.S. tour as of Friday,has yet to publicly comment on the release of his forthcoming LP.

But news of its existence has thrownthe internet into a tizzy.