What was the role of religion in Franz Liszt’s life?

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

As a teenager, Franz Liszt expressed a desire to become a priest, but this never happened. During his later years in Rome, he became increasingly occupied with religious music, composing oratorios such as Christus (1855–66). He wanted to create a new kind of religious music that would be direct and moving rather than sentimental.