A historic Protestant church in Heidelberg has been hosting Taylor Swift-themed services that blend pop music with worship.
Held at the Church of the Holy Spirit, the so-called “Taylor Swift Gottesdienste” have drawn large crowds, including families and young people, with all 1,300 seats reportedly claimed within hours of opening registration.
Live renditions of Swift’s songs and reflections on her lyrics form the core of the services, which are promoted as spiritually enriching by organizers.
Pastor Vincenzo Petracca, of the Protestant Church in Germany, led the services, and said Swift’s music offered a way to “address topics that concern young people.”
He claimed her lyrics, such as the reference to praying to Our Lord in Soon You’ll Get Better, could be tied to spiritual themes and real-life experiences. “She connects human experience with spirituality,” he said.
“We weave the classic liturgy with the songs and the lyrics,” he said. “We follow the classical liturgy, but the only text that remains unchanged is the Lord’s Prayer.”
Services also involve the exchange of friendship bracelets – a new development since the first service, Petracca noted.
The pastor explained that leading the Swift-themed services had turned him into a “Swiftie,” and that the experience gave him “a deeper insight into the U.S. cultural struggle.”
“Taylor Swift gives you a glimpse into the heart of the American public,” he claimed.
Swift identifies herself as a Christian. However, she has expressed support for leftist causes, and endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 U.S. election, particularly for their promotion of abortion and LGBT ideology.
She has also made music videos portraying Christians negatively for being against such causes.
In 2023, a Dioceses of Nashville exorcist warned against attending Swift’s concerts, saying that one of her songs promoted witchcraft.
Music in divine worship
The Catholic Church has issued her own instructions on liturgical music over the centuries.
In 1955, Pope Pius XII reaffirmed that sacred music must remain free of anything “profane and foreign to divine worship,” recalling the Council of Trent’s condemnation of anything “lascivious or impure” in liturgical music.
He denied imposing “laws of aesthetics” about music, as if he were outlawing non-sacred music. Instead, he taught, the Church was obliged “to protect sacred music against anything that might lessen its dignity,” because of the importance of the liturgy in the sanctification and salvation of souls.
While allowing for musical development, Pius warned that instruments must “play nothing profane, nothing clamorous or strident,” lest they undermine “the dignity of the place” or the sacred purpose of divine worship.