Rosalía's new album 'Lux,' a spiritual work, has garnered praise from Catholic clergy. The album, featuring songs in 13 languages, marks a departure from her previous Grammy-winning albums. Bishop Xabier Gómez García lauded Rosalía's expression of faith and spiritual search in the album. The album incorporates diverse musical styles, including classical strings, electronica, and flamenco. 'Lux' has achieved significant success, with four songs in Spotify's Top 50 global chart.
23 days ago
Rosalía's new album "Lux," released in 2025, marks a significant departure from her previous Grammy-winning works like "El mal querer" and "Motomami," shifting from experimental urban beats to unabashedly spiritual themes.1 The 15-track album explores a yearning for the divine, sung in 13 languages including Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew, blending styles such as classical strings, electronica, flamenco, and hip-hop.1
It opens with introspective lyrics like "Who could live between the two/ First love the world and later love God," signaling a rupture toward deeper faith exploration.1 Commercially, "Lux" has achieved rapid success, with four songs in Spotify's Top 50 global chart, surpassing even Taylor Swift.1
Catholic leaders have enthusiastically endorsed "Lux," viewing it as a profound spiritual search.1 Bishop Xabier Gómez García of Sant Feliu de Llobregat praised Rosalía's freedom in expressing her thirst for God, noting the album transcends music into a testimony of women's spiritual maturity, especially given her grandmother's ties to the local diocese.1
Vatican Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, highlighted how Rosalía captures contemporary culture's need for inner life and spirituality amid secular dissatisfaction.1 He described her work as detecting a wider yearning beyond materialism.1
At 33, Rosalía drew from her upbringing in a secularizing Catholic Spain, where churches now serve mostly elderly parishioners, to fuel "Lux."1 She cited a longing for faith in an era of uncertainty, guided by the idea that artists serve God more surely than themselves.1
Her inspirations include hagiographies of female saints worldwide, medieval mystical poets like Saint John of the Cross, and diverse traditions such as Sufi poetry.1 Visually, she has transformed from hip-hop fashion to a nun-like aesthetic on the album cover, emphasizing introspection.1
"Lux" mixes high and pop culture, featuring elaborate orchestration like a boys' choir from a millennium-old monastery, Björk's cameo, and an Italian aria.1 Songs like "Dios es un stalker" provocatively liken God to an obsessed lover, while "Reliquia" compares Rosalía to saints leaving body parts as relics in global cities.1
Other tracks delve into mysticism, such as "Divinize" on "divine emptiness" for God's entry, and "La Yugular" associating the throat with divine access.1 Despite esoteric elements, the album remains accessible, scornfully addressing personal themes like lost love in "La Perla."1
Madonna has declared herself a fan, and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber called "Lux" the album of the decade.1 Josep Oton, a Barcelona religious history professor, lauded its profound cultural roots in popular music, allowing diverse listeners to derive varied meanings.1
Victoria Cirlot, a medieval mysticism expert at Pompeu Fabra University, appreciated its introduction of complex concepts to the public, praising Rosalía's vocal and performative ecstasy as evoking mystical flight.1 She noted the album as a minimalist yet impactful sample of feminine mystical traditions.1
Assess Catholic clergy’s reception of contemporary faith music
The Catholic Church has long recognized the vital role of music in divine worship, viewing it as a means to elevate the soul, foster participation, and proclaim the mysteries of faith. Contemporary faith music—encompassing modern compositions, popular religious songs, and adaptations influenced by current cultural trends—has elicited a mixed reception among the Catholic clergy. While magisterial teachings encourage its use when it aligns with liturgical principles, there is consistent caution against forms that introduce profanity, superficiality, or an anthropocentric focus that detracts from Christ's centrality in the liturgy. This assessment draws from papal documents, conciliar instructions, and theological reflections, revealing a tradition that balances innovation with fidelity to sacred standards.
The Church's approach to music in worship has evolved, yet it remains rooted in principles established over centuries. Pope St. Pius X's 1903 motu proprio Tra le Sollecitudini set a foundational tone by affirming Gregorian chant's pride of place while allowing "more modern music" provided it is "serious and dignified" and free from profane, theatrical, or secular influences. This caution reflects an awareness of modernity's tendency to separate "sense and sensibility, truth from feeling," a concern echoed in later teachings.
Building on this, Pope Pius XII in Mediator Dei (1947) explicitly permitted modern music and singing in Catholic worship, stating it should not be entirely excluded if it avoids profanity, unbecoming elements, or desires for "extraordinary and unusual effects." Instead, such music can enhance the "splendor of the sacred ceremonies," lift the mind to higher things, and foster devotion. Similarly, Musicae Sacrae (1955) honors artists who contribute to the Church's apostolic ministry through their work, opening "wide the doors of its temples" to them. These encyclicals indicate early clerical endorsement of contemporary forms when they serve sanctification, though always subordinate to traditional sacred music.
The Second Vatican Council's Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963) marked a pivotal shift, promoting active participation and the intelligent fostering of "religious singing by the faithful" in liturgical services. The subsequent instruction Musicam Sacram (1967) broadened the definition of sacred music to include "sacred popular music, be it liturgical or simply religious," alongside Gregorian chant and polyphony. It emphasizes that no kind of sacred music is prohibited if it corresponds to the "spirit of the liturgical celebration" and facilitates participation, taking into account the capacities of singers. New works must conform to these norms, ensuring they possess "the qualities proper to genuine sacred music" and can be sung by smaller groups or the assembly. This framework suggests a generally positive clerical reception post-Vatican II, viewing contemporary music as a tool for unity and joyful expression in large assemblies.
Popes John Paul II and Francis have continued this trajectory, encouraging adaptation while stressing quality. In his 2003 Chirograph commemorating Tra le Sollecitudini, John Paul II affirmed the Church's openness to "the most modern music" if it respects the "liturgical spirit and the true values of this art form." He highlighted the post-Vatican II development of popular religious song as a "bond of unity" that fosters proclamation of faith and solemnity. Addressing the International Congress of Sacred Music in 2001, he praised the 20th-century growth of popular religious music, suitable for faithful participation in devotions and liturgy, provided composers exercise creativity to deepen textual significance. He also noted its role in the Great Jubilee, where contemporary hymns alongside Gregorian chant and polyphony created fervent celebrations.
Pope Francis, in his 2017 address to a conference on sacred music, underscored the need to balance the "rich and manifold patrimony inherited from the past" with inculturation into contemporary artistic languages. Sacred music must "incarnate and translate the Word of God into song, sound, and harmony" that resonates with modern hearts, creating an emotional climate for faith. However, he warned against "mediocrity, superficiality, and banality" that undermine liturgical beauty, calling for qualitative renewal through proper formation of clergy, musicians, and lay leaders. This reflects clerical appreciation for contemporary music's evangelistic potential but a demand for discernment to avoid concessions to frivolity.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reinforces this, describing the Church's musical tradition as a "treasure of inestimable value" integral to liturgy, drawing from psalms and hymns to form part of solemn worship. It urges fostering religious singing in conformity with doctrine, primarily from Scripture and liturgical sources.
Despite these endorsements, clerical reception includes significant reservations, often framed as calls for reform. Theological reflections like "Worthy of the Temple" critique post-Vatican II implementations where Gregorian chant was marginalized, leading to an "anthropocentric" turn in contemporary liturgical music. Bouncing meters, stirring tunes, and pealing accompaniments can shift focus from Christ the High Priest to human experience, ill-serving the liturgy's Christocentric purpose. The essay notes resistance by some church musicians who preserved chant and created complementary modern forms inspired by it, aligning with Pius X's axiom that compositions approaching Gregorian form are more sacred.
John Paul II echoed these concerns, urging an "examination of conscience" for the Church to restore beauty in music and hymnody, implying displeasure with some contemporary enactments that lack theological correctness or dignity. He warned against broadening "sacred music" to include repertoires violating liturgical norms, reminiscent of Pius X's purification from profane theatrical influences. In Musicam Sacram, pieces not harmonizing with liturgy should be relegated to devotions, not the Mass.
Earlier critiques, such as those from the Council of Toledo (1566) and writers like Abbot Aelred, decried theatrical sounds in churches as unfit for praising God. St. Basil the Great viewed music as divinely therapeutic, blending melody with doctrine to counter sin's rift between sense and sensibility, a principle contemporary clergy invoke against superficial trends. Dom Jean Prou's 1983 discourse advocated "lyrical catechesis" via arts like music to engage all faculties, privileging chant but open to forms uniting sense and faith.
These sources reveal clerical wariness: while not outright rejecting contemporary music, many priests and theologians see it as prone to cultural dilution, urging formation in sensus Ecclesiae for artists to translate mysteries authentically.
Controversy arises in implementation, particularly post-Vatican II, where enthusiasm for participation sometimes led to "elitist forms of inculturation" or incomprehensible languages unsuitable for assemblies. Older sources like Benedict XIV's Annus qui hunc (1749) and Pius X's Pieni l'animo (1906) highlight historical tensions over polyphony and instruments, fearing insubordination or scandal. More recent teachings prioritize recent magisterium: Vatican II and subsequent popes take precedence, favoring inculturation over rigid traditionalism, yet insisting on universal accessibility and sacred character.
Divergences exist between progressive clergy embracing popular styles for evangelization and traditionalists favoring chant's contemplative depth. The Church resolves this by mandating music that promotes faith's vibrant joy without banality, as in John Paul II's address to Pueri Cantores, where sacred song serves the Eucharist and turns hearts to God.
Catholic clergy's reception of contemporary faith music is cautiously affirmative, guided by a rich tradition that welcomes innovation for participation and inculturation while demanding holiness, dignity, and Christocentric focus. Papal and conciliar documents provide clear criteria to discern fitting expressions, critiquing excesses that prioritize emotion over doctrine. By adhering to these, clergy can harness contemporary music to deepen theological faith, ensuring it remains "worthy of the temple" and a true aid to sanctification.