Happy birthday, White Album.

It’s been 40 years since the iconic Beatles album was released — and hey, in honor of the milestone the Vatican has even sent a present, of sorts.

Vatican City’s daily newspaper appears to have forgiven John Lennon for his notorious quip about being more famous than Jesus.

Reuters quotes the daily:

The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a ‘boast’ by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll…

The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians.

Nice to hear they’re willing to, y’know, forgive.

Still, I doubt if “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” will be getting much air time on Vatican radio any time soon.

Here’s my favorite track off the legendary four-sided album: Revolution 1

Eva Holland

Eva Holland is co-editor of Matador Pulse and a regular contributor to the Matador Network. She's also a contributing editor at World Hum. Eva recently quit her day job and gave notice on her apartment, and is currently bouncing around Eastern Ontario, Quebec and upstate New York.