There was one extra Madonna in the Vatican recently.
One week after turning 66, Madonna gave fans a peek at her family trip to the Catholic Church headquarters via Instagram on Friday (Aug. 23). While in Rome, she snapped glamorous photos showing off a chic floral dress, hat and gloves, posing in front of the ancient Vatican City architecture and admiring some of the gorgeous marble statues and religious paintings immortalized on the walls inside the holy buildings.
“Arrivederci Roma!!!” she captioned the post. “a perfect ending to a Glorious Birthday Celebration with friends and family! … Ciao Italia!!!!”
The “Material Girl” singer also included a snap of her 11-year-old twins Estere and Stella wearing matching polka-dot dresses on the outing, as well as a photo in which she stands next to her rumored boyfriend, Akeem Morris. In the latter, Madge cools herself off with a delicate fan while the soccer player sports a white scarf as a veil over his head.
The post comes nearly four months after Madonna wrapped up her Celebration Tour in early May, closing out a career-spanning showcase that kicked off later than expected due to the superstar being hospitalized in June 2023 for a bacterial infection. On the Fourth of July this year, the Queen of Pop reflected on her recovery in a heartfelt Instagram post, writing, ”A year ago today, I had just come home from the hospital after surviving a life threatening illness, I could barely stand in my backyard holding one sparkler.”
“I made a miraculous recovery and had an amazing year,” she added at the time. “Thank you God. Life is beautiful!”
Later that month, Madonna and her twin daughters walked the red carpet at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere in celebration of the icon’s 1989 hit “Like a Prayer” being used in the superhero film. In an interview with SiriusXM shortly before the premiere, the film’s star Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy opened up about the process of getting the song cleared for the project, which apparently involved a personal visit to Madge’s house.
“It was a big deal to ask for it and certainly a bigger deal to use it,” Levy recalled. “We went over and met with her and and sort of showed her how it was being used, and where, and why.”
“She gave a great note,” Reynolds added. “She watched it, and I’m not kidding, [she said], ‘You need to do this.’ And damn it, if she wasn’t like spot on.”