Keith Knowles has been suspended since December 2005

Keith Knowles, 37, was in charge of the Catholic Saint Francis Xavier College Boys' Choir in Liverpool, which sang twice for Pope Jean Paul II.

He was convicted at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Wednesday of 14 counts of making and eight counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Knowles, of Aigburth, was bailed until 21 December, when he will be sentenced.

As well as singing for the Pope, the choir made it into the charts with the official song for the 2004 European Championships, All Together Now.

Governors meeting

The choir is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for being the first choir to sing at services in all 49 Anglican cathedrals in England and Wales.

It has toured several countries in the past six years and performed for a private audience at the Vatican in 1999.

Mr Knowles has been suspended from the post since his arrest in December 2005.

Les Rippon, head teacher at the Roman Catholic college, said school governors would be meeting to decide "an appropriate course of action".

"In line with correct procedure, Mr Knowles was suspended from school on 1 December 2005 as a result of allegations which had been made about him and which were then the subject of a police investigation.