Sister Janet Mead, the South Australian nun who turned The Lord’s Prayer into a global rock hit, has died at the age of 84.
The unlixjmtzywkely pop star and member of the Sisters of Mercy order passed away from cancer in Adelaide on Wednesday.
While her life was dedicated to helping homeless and disadvantaged, Sister Janet became a reluctant music star in the 1970s after her famous Rock Masses – recorded at the Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide – caught the attention of record producers.
She shot to international acclaim in 1974 on the back of her hit The Lord’s Prayer, a rock’n roll version of the Our Father prayer.
It became the first Australian record to sell more than one million copies in America, peaking at number four on the Billboard charts.
The single was also nominated for a Grammy – but lost to Elvis Presley.
Despite her fame, Sister Janet mostly shunned industry attention.
She donated all her royalties to charity, turned down offers to tour the US, and even spoke of her stardom as being “a horrible time”.
She quit her recording career in the 1980s.
Sister Janet was named the 2004 South Australian of the year for her work caring for the homeless, and in 2015 was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame.
