Wearing a black habit and a crucifix around her neck, Sister Cristina Scuccia thanked God for her victory.

"My presence here is not up to me, it's thanks to the man upstairs," she said after winning the competition against a 28-year-old rocker with long curly hair who had performed "Stairway to Heaven".

“I want Jesus to come in here!,” Scuccia, who was dressed in an ankle-length black skirt and sensible black shoes said, before reciting the Our Father prayer before a packed auditorium that included nuns from her Ursuline Order.

For winning the competition, Sister Cristina was offered a contract with the Universal record company.

The Sicilian nun shot to fame in March when she appeared on the show with a rendition of Alicia Key's "No One". A video of her performance went viral on YouTube, receiving more than 50 million hits, earning the singing nun an article on the front page of the New York Times in May.

Prior to Friday's final, Scuccia said she would allow parish superiors to decide whether she could take up a career in show business.

"I would be very happy even to go back to singing with children in parish churches," she said.

Taking part in talent shows, Scuccia said, was another way of spreading the word of the Gospel. Suor Christina told reporters she was following Pope Francis' appeals to bring the Catholic Church closer to ordinary people.

Jokingly, the singing nun said that she was "definitely" expecting Pope Francis to give her a call following her win.

Scuccia may have won the singing contest, but her popularity is not widespread, even in Italy. Critics say her success is based mostly on a novelty factor, rather than actual talent.

Italy's representative at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Emma Marrone, complained the sensation surrounding Scuccia was "an insult to show business."

jlw/jm (AFP, dpa)