A 25-year-old nun from Sicily who has recently vowed judges on a TV talent show with her rendition of Alicia Key's "No One" has become an international sensation, Italian media were reporting Sunday.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper said that by attracting over 13 million views on YouTube in three days, Sister Cristina Scuccia's performance could be described as one of the website's most successful videos.
"Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy remains the most watched video on YouTube, with almost 2 billion hits, Corriere della Sera wrote.
But when it was first published, it took 18 days - rather than three - to pass the 10-million-hits mark.
By early Sunday afternoon, the number of visualizations for Sister Cristina's video had jumped to over 19 million. The unlikely TV contestant has been praised by Alicia Keys herself.
"Now, THAT'S what beautiful, pure energy looks like! Sing it, sister Christina!" the US singer posted on Twitter, along with a link to the nun's video.
Sister Cristina appeared on The Voice of Italy, broadcast by RAI state television, on Wednesday night.
She told judges that she was happy to share her "gift" with them, and said she was "definitely expecting a call from Pope Francis."
She said taking part in talent shows was just another way of spreading the Gospel - in line with Francis' pastoral recommendation for priests to get "dirty" and "bruised," by reaching out to people in the street.
"Who said that a nun cannot perform? It gives out a strong signal if a young woman who has consecrated her life to God continues to do things that any person of my age would do,"
Sister Cristina was quoted as saying in another Italian daily, La Repubblica.
Italian TV's singing nun becomes an international sensation
A 25-year-old nun from Sicily who has recently vowed judges on a TV talent show with her rendition of Alicia Key's "No One" has become an international sensation, Italian media were reporting Sunday.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper said that by attracting over 13 million views on YouTube in three days, Sister Cristina Scuccia's performance could be described as one of the website's most successful videos.
"Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy remains the most watched video on YouTube, with almost 2 billion hits, Corriere della Sera wrote.
But when it was first published, it took 18 days - rather than three - to pass the 10-million-hits mark.
By early Sunday afternoon, the number of visualizations for Sister Cristina's video had jumped to over 19 million. The unlikely TV contestant has been praised by Alicia Keys herself.
"Now, THAT'S what beautiful, pure energy looks like! Sing it, sister Christina!" the US singer posted on Twitter, along with a link to the nun's video.
Sister Cristina appeared on The Voice of Italy, broadcast by RAI state television, on Wednesday night.
She told judges that she was happy to share her "gift" with them, and said she was "definitely expecting a call from Pope Francis."
She said taking part in talent shows was just another way of spreading the Gospel - in line with Francis' pastoral recommendation for priests to get "dirty" and "bruised," by reaching out to people in the street.
"Who said that a nun cannot perform? It gives out a strong signal if a young woman who has consecrated her life to God continues to do things that any person of my age would do,"
Sister Cristina was quoted as saying in another Italian daily, La Repubblica.
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