Pope Francis has been on the receiving end of much adoration this week as he barnstorms America, but his biggest fan might be the Material Girl.
Madonna, not known for her love of the Vatican, endorsed the pontiff at her concert on Thursday, praising “Popey-wopey” before accusing him of “stalking” her.
“Rules are for fools. That’s why I like the new pope. He seems very open-minded,” she said. “Since Popey-Wopey is on his way over here, I want to dedicate this song to him,” she said before singing a rendition of “La Vie en Rose.”
In a tongue-and-cheek joke, Madonna then accuses Francis of having his eye set on her. “The pope is stalking me,” she said, referencing her recent performance in New York. “Either he’s a copycat or he’s secretly in love with me.”
After climbing up stairs, Madonna then challenged the pope: “I made it. Can the pope do that?”
And the pop icon also gave a nod to her tumultuous history with the Vatican, noting she’s been “excommunicated from the Catholic Church three times. It shows the Vatican really cares.”