DOLORES O' RIORDAN will sing for the Pope tonight as one of the performers at the annual Vatican Christmas concert. The Voice of Ireland mentor will help provide a musical welcome for Pope Francis who is spending his first Christmas in the Vatican after being elected last March.
A regular at the Vatican, earlier this week the mother-of-three had a special audience with the Pontiff ahead of the annual Concerto di Natale, which features international musicians such as Patti Smith as well as Italy's Giovanni Allevi and Alex Britti.
Previously, Dolores (42) has spoken about how her Catholic upbringing influenced her music, as well as the impact of meeting the late Pope John Paul II in 2001 and 2002, who was said to be a fan of her music.
"I'm Christian in lots of ways, but not conventional," she said.
"A lot of the stuff I learnt, I take with me today -- that we should let each other be ourselves.
"I was chuffed to see the inside (of the Vatican) and I met Il Papa, who was lovely, very saintly. I was mad about him.
"I thought he really cared for the poor and he loved to meet the people. I saw him when he came to Limerick, when I was a kid.
"So it was pretty mind-blowing to take my mum out to meet him."
High-profile acts who have appeared at the Vatican's Christmas Concerts since they began in 1993 have included Westlife, Charlotte Church, Dionne Warwick, Bryan Adams and Sarah Brightman.
The next big show by Dolores will be an open air concert in her home city of Limerick on New Year's Eve to mark the opening of its year as Irish City of Culture 2014.