In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI apologized to Ireland to atone for decades of abuse, O’Connor condemned the apology for not going far enough and called for Catholics to boycott Mass until there was a full investigation into the Vatican’s role, which by 2018 was making international headlines.

For many years, she called for a full investigation into the extent of the church’s role in concealing child abuse by clergy. In 1999, O’Connor caused uproar in Ireland when she became a priestess of the breakaway Latin Tridentine Church - a position that was not recognized by the mainstream Catholic Church.

(Years later, Kristofferson recorded “Sister Sinead,” for which he wrote “And maybe she’s crazy and maybe she ain’t/But so was Picasso and so were the saints.”) She was supposed to sing Dylan’s “I Believe in You,” but switched to an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s “War,” which she had sung on “Saturday Night Live.”Īlthough consoled and encouraged on stage by her friend Kris Kristofferson, she left and broke down, and her performance was kept off the concert CD. The following week, Joe Pesci hosted “Saturday Night Live,” held up a repaired photo of the Pope and said that if he had been on the show with O’Connor he “would have gave her such a smack.”ĭays later, she appeared at an all-star tribute for Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden and was immediately booed. Taylor Swift Gifts Vanessa and Kobe Bryant's Daughter Bianka Her '22' Hat at Eras TourĪ critic of the Catholic Church well before allegations sexual abuse were widely reported, O’Connor made headlines in October 1992 when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while appearing live on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and denounced the church as the enemy. “Nothing Compares 2 U” received three Grammy nominations and was the featured track off her acclaimed album “I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got,” which helped lead Rolling Stone to name her Artist of the Year in 1991. She was a star from her 1987 debut album “The Lion and the Cobra” and became a sensation in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a seething, shattering performance that topped charts from Europe to Australia and was heightened by a promotional video featuring the gray-eyed O’Connor in intense close-up. Recognizable by her shaved head and elfin features, O’Connor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the singer's family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.

Sinéad O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s but was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56.

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