Several years ago, pop singer Katy Perry got the name “Jesus” tattooed on her wrist, reminding her whenever she played guitar she could return to the Christian faith in which her parents raised her. Now it seems the “I Kissed a Girl” songwriter could be interested in rekindling that faith.
In an interview with Vogue Australia, Perry said her mother, an evangelist, has faithfully prayed she would one day “come back to God.” And after meeting Pope Francis, the famed singer might be moving in that direction.
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“I’m such a big fan of Pope Francis,” Perry said. “It’s a combination of compassion, humility, sternness and refusal. He is a rebel — a rebel for Jesus.”
Perry traveled to Vatican City with her boyfriend, actor Orlando Bloom, and mother in late April to meet the 81-year-old pontiff. She was in Rome at the time to speak about meditation at an event hosted by the Catholic Church.
Now in her thirties, the “Roar” singer said she’s focusing more on “spirituality and heart goodness.”
Perry told Katie Couric in 2009 that her “Jesus” tattoo “stares right back at me” as a reminder of her Christian roots.
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“I knew I wanted this on me, because no matter how much changes around me or how much I change, there’s not really an eraser for this,” she said, adding “It stares right back at me. It’s like ‘remember, you came from this, and you can always go back to it.’”
Perry has waffled back and forth over her faith. Over the Easter weekend in April, she posted a rainbow-washed photo of her “Jesus” tattoo on Instagram with the caption, “My brokenness + God’s divinity = my wholeness.”
Perry foreshadowed her revived religious beliefs during an interview with Glamour magazine published in February. At the time, the performer said she was “preparing to do a big soul overhaul very soon.”
“I want to grow into becoming an adult,” she explained. “I’m preparing myself for having a family of my own someday. And that’s the thing: I want to do a little bit more soul surgery before I have a family of my own.”
Referencing her real name, Perry added, “If I want to have that true balance, I have to step into being Katheryn Hudson.”
Perry, promoting her latest album with a live therapy session broadcast on YouTube, admitted in 2017 that she’s had suicidal thoughts.
“I do believe in something much bigger than me and I call that God for me,” she said then. “I know that God has his hand on me, and I know sometimes I go through things and they’re just too intense and I can’t handle them and then he swoops in and he shows me that it’s his grace that brings me through it.”
Two years ago, Perry’s parents asked other Christians to withhold judgement of their daughter. Instead, they asked fellow believers to pray for her.
“I want you to pray for my daughter,” her father, Keith, said in 2016. “Don’t judge her; pray for her.”