The church of Taylor Swift: A Protestant church in Germany is embracing pop culture as attendance plummets

Vincenzo Petracca, priest of a Protestant church in Germany, is attempting to tackle a haemorrhaging flock by embracing pop culture.

Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg is holding services featuring Taylor Swift’s music to attract younger people.

“Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby,” the priest said solemnly. Some in the church, ­especially those in colourful ­Taylor Swift T-shirts, nod. It’s a quote from Anti-Hero, one of the singer’s most famous hits.

A Taylor Swift poster on the wall of the church.

This is not a normal Sunday service for the Church of the Holy Spirit, one of the landmarks of Heidelberg, the German city known for its big student population. The service, dedicated to the ubiquitous Swift, is part of a bigger campaign by the Protestant church to attract younger audiences.

Two services were fully booked within hours.

“No one expected that Taylor Swift would have such a response,” said Vincenzo Petracca, priest of the church and ­organiser of the service. “We were completely surprised.”

The Protestant church in Germany had a record loss of members in 2022, about 575,000 people or 2.9 per cent.

Young ­people are especially under-represented.

Swifties queue to get into the church in Heidelberg, Germany.

Petracca, who is also a hobby DJ, thinks the church has a communication problem. “I think the church still has good answers to the important questions of life but they are often packaged in a way that younger generations do not understand, it is not their language,” he said.

To address Gen Z, he has started thinking outside the box, ­organising special services such as church dance battles and the Taylor Swift Mass. Past pop events, with music by Michael Jackson, Madonna and Bob Dylan, have been popular but not attracted younger audiences.

Swift seems to have changed that, with about 1200 people from all over Germany coming to the service.

Students in their 20s mingled with regular churchgoers and Gen Alpha “Swifties” under 14.

In preparation, Petracca, 59, listened to all Swift’s 11 albums to pick the most suitable songs. After going through the music in detail, he has become a fan. “Some of her songs are brimming with metaphors, her writing ­really touched me. I am a Swiftie now,” he said.

And he is not alone. “Are Swifties here today?” Petracca asked during the service and was greeted by loud cheers and whoops, with some people waving their pink programs.

“We don’t want to make her a saint,” Petracca said. Criticism of the singer was thin though – there is a mention of the ecological controversy of her private jet and the massive influence she has on American politics. But mostly, Swift comes off well.

Her activism for LGBT rights was praised – “She’s an icon for the queer community,” Petracca said – as well as her comments distancing herself from Donald Trump and far-right conservatives in Tennessee.

Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg during one of its Taylor Swift sermons.

There is a focus on Swift’s Christianity, illustrated by her ­ little-known song Christmas Must be Something More.

During the song Soon You’ll Get Better, about Swift’s mother’s cancer, tears were flowing among the audience.

Before the last song, the fan favourite Shake it Off, Petracca invited people to stand up and dance, saying: “An angel calls out to you to shake off the negative energy. Amen.”

Responses afterwards were positive. Nina and Mathilda, 13, came to the service for the first time and thought it was “cool”.

Would they come back? “If there is another Taylor Swift service, yes. But we wouldn’t go to normal services. We are both not very religious,” Nina said.

Petracca hopes the broad range of unusual services across Germany, including a church rave, a Harry Potter service in Ludwigshafen and a motorbike service in Hamburg, could show younger people that the church listens to them.

The church wants to keep the momentum going. For autumn, another service is planned: Billie Eilish and Beyonce are on the shortlist.

The Times