A 25-year-old Ursuline nun has taken out the Italian version of TV talent show The Voice with an large majority of popular votes.
Wearing her black habit and a crucifix, Sr Cristina Scuccia eventually beat three other competitors with a convincing 62 per cent share of the popular vote.
She closed the show by saying the Lord’s Prayer.
“The last word of thanks, the most important, goes of course to him in heaven,” she said.
“And my dream is to recite a Padre Nostro together . . . I want Jesus to enter into this.”
One of the songs she sang in the final was “Flashdance . . . What a feeling”.
She sprang to fame in March when, in a blind audition on the show, she sang the Alicia Keys hit “No-One”.
Video of her performance went viral on the Internet and since then has received more than 50 million hits on YouTube.
Her win sees her receive a recording contract offer from Universal, but she has said she wants to go back to her life in a convent near Milan.
“I will go back to my priorities – prayer, waking up early in the morning, school service,” she said.
She reportedly also said she would leave it to her superiors to decide if show business is an appropriate career for a nun.
Sr Cristina defined herself as a “humble servant” and ascribed her sudden success to a “thirst for joy, for love, and a message that is beautiful and pure”.
Her performances have drawn criticism from some traditional quarters about whether such “exhibitionism” is appropriate for a nun.
Other viewers have said her wearing her black habit on the show was a gimmick to attract attention.
But the Vatican’s cardinal in charge of the Pontifical council for Culture, Gianfranco Ravasi, posted a message of support for her on Twitter after her win.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others (1 Peter 4:10) #suorcristina,” it read.
When Sr Cristina first appeared on the show, she said she had been inspired to do so by Pope Francis, who has asked nuns and priests to “come out” of their churches and convents and spread the word of God.
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