The Twitter hashtag #popebars went viral Monday after one Twitter user posted a photo of Pope Francis in prime rapper stance — mic in one hand, gesturing with the other, surrounded by a "cypher" of very attentive African clergy members waiting their turn — and encouraged users to make their own lyrics and memes.
The photo was taken during the pope's visit to an internally displaced people camp in the conflict-ridden Central African Republic on Sunday as he gave his blessing.
But that didn't stop the idea of il papa "blessing the mic" in a battle rap formation from striking Twitter gold.
As of Monday afternoon the hashtag was trending with more than 60,000 tweets. Even best-selling author and columnist Ta-Nehisi Coates and Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the Broadway musical Hamilton, joined in on the game with a few genius lyrics of their own.
Related: Pope Francis's Africa Tour Stops at Extremely Dangerous Neighborhood
This isn't the first time #popebars has inspired Twitter to break out the freestyles. People have been tweeting about the pope's potential rap career for months.
Here are some of our most recent favorites:
Some joked about him dropping a new mixtape too.
