Papal visit won’t be causing a commotion for Madonna faithful

Local Madonna fans found a ray of light in the Philadelphia Business Journal report today that her Sept. 24 concert in Philadelphia will suffer no logistical interference from the Holy Father’s visit.

According to transportation officials, concert-goers should be able to flee Wells Fargo Center well before Philadelphia goes deeper and deeper into its papal security transportation clamp-down in preparation for Pope Francis’s first appearance on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Although there’s no word on the set list for her Rebel Heart Tour, commenting on the pope’s visit seems almost too big a temptation to avoid for a performer who has built her career on challenging traditional views of sexuality and religion — often by mixing the two. When her 2006 Confessions Tour stopped in Rome, a mile away from Vatican City, a scene from the show involving a mock crucifixion famously pushed Pope Benedict over the borderline. He declined her invitation to attend the show. 

There’s similarly no word on whether the “Living for Love” singer will have a chance to follow through on her stated desire to share a glass of wine with Pope Francis before she departs. It seems unlikely that the pontiff would be into that groove.