Sr Cristina Scuccia, a member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Holy Family, wowed judges on the Italian version of the TV show "The Voice".

Her audition has gone viral, with more than 3 million views on YouTube.

Clad in her black habit, Sr Christina performed a punchy rendition of Alicia Keys' "No One".

It brought forth wild cheers from the audience and moved one judge, Italian rapper J-Ax, to tears.

Answering a question from one judge, Sr Cristina assured the panel she is a real nun.

The audience gave her a standing ovation.

The 25-year-old native of the Sicily attended the auditions accompanied by her parents, and four sisters from her community

As her performance soared, her fellow sisters could not contain their excitement, cheering, clapping and jumping.

"I came here because I have a gift and I want to share that gift. I am here to evangelise," Sr Christina said.

Asked what the Vatican would make of her performance, Sr Christina said: "I don't know. I'm expecting a telephone call from Pope Francis, certainly."

"Because he exhorts us to go out, to evangelise, to say that God does not take from us, but rather gives us more," she continued.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, tweeted his admiration for Sr Cristina's performance.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others (1 Peter 4:10)," the cardinal posted on Twitter.

Last year, Sr Cristina won a Christian music competition as part of the Good News Festival.

Then she explained that she had found her vocation while playing a nun in a musical.

Sources:

• The Guardian
• News.co.au
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Irish Examiner

The high-flying papal retreat preacher Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi is tweeting his talks in Italian and English Twitter accounts, @CardRavasi and @CardRavasi_en.

Cardinal Ravasi, 70, began the spiritual reflections Feb. 17 by describing Pope Benedict's future role in the church after his resignation as being a presence "like that of Moses, who climbs the hill to pray for the people of Israel."

The pope and top officials from the Roman Curia suspend their normal schedules to gather each morning and afternoon in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel for common prayer, eucharistic adoration and 17 meditations.

The pope chose papabili, Cardinal Ravasi, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, for this year's weeklong retreat.

Vatican Radio is posting the audio of the cardinal's complete meditations in Italian.

Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi has said Benedict will not play nay role in the upcoming election of a new pope.

Sources

• CNS
• CathNews

Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said that priests who used theological language that was formulaic and boring risked making the gospel irrelevant.

Grey, dull and flavourless sermons need to be livened up with graphic stories and scandal contained within the Bible, the Cardinal said.

"The advent of televised and computerised information requires us to be compelling and trenchant, to cut to the heart of the matter, to resort to narratives and colour."

The Bible was "crowded with stories, symbols and images," he said.

Speaking at a conference in Rome, he said Twitter was also an effective way of spread the Word of God.

"We need to remember that communicating faith doesn't just take place through sermons. It can be achieved through the 140 characters of a Twitter message."

Cardinal Ravasi, a champion of new media who writes a blog for the website of Italy's respected financial daily, Il Sole 24 Ore, said that whether they liked it or not, priests in the pulpit should be aware that their congregations were "the children of television and the internet."

Sources

• The Telegraph
• SMH
• Image: Incaelo