Hip, young and fun are usually not words that come immediately to mind when describing the Catholic Church. But this is the mood the world's second largest religious institution is looking to create for the Pope's stop at a youth rally in New York next Saturday.
Instead, youths attending the event at St Joseph's Seminary Chapel in Yonkers on April 19 can forget the robe-clad choir and get ready to get their rock on.
Kelly Clarkson, the former "American Idol" winner, is one of several contemporary singers slated to perform before a crowd of 25,000 Catholics at the Papal Youth Rally, the US' CBS Channel 2 reports.
The pop star will perform a few of her songs before the Pope's arrival and "Ave Maria" after his arrival, the Star-Telegram reports.
Clarkson, who said she grew up singing church music, told the paper that she was excited to sing the song before the Catholic Church head.
Most recently, Christian rock artist TobyMac was added to the musical line-up which includes Christian rock band Third Day and New York pop/classical trio "Three Graces".
It will be TobyMac's third papal performance. While he was a member of the CCM rap group DC Talk, TobyMac performed at youth events in Denver (1993) and St Louis (1999), both of which were presided over by the late Pope John Paul II.
"It's an honour to participate in this Papal visit. Not too many artists are given this opportunity. We have great respect for the work he does," the Dove Award-winning artist commented.
Tai Anderson of Third Day said he expects the papal performance to be one of the "cornerstone moments" of the band's career, according to The Associated Press.
Chris Wangro, the rally's producer, said the Christian rock band was selected to perform not only because they are recognised as a leader in Christian music but also "an important influence for today's youth".
"We wanted to bring the most current sound to the rally and Third Day definitely fits this bill," he said in a news release.
