Dancing priest follows inspiration

Rev. David Rider (right) and Rev. John Gibson became an Internet sensation for their tap and Irish dance moves. (AP Photo)

A YouTube video has gone viral of seminarians Rev. David Rider, 29, of Hyde Park, New York, and Rev. John Gibson, 28, of Milwaukee, from the Pontifical North American College in Rome, tapping and Irish dancing in front of a crowd for a fundraiser in April at the college.

Rider attributes his vocational calling to Pope John Paul II. In a 2012 CNS video interview, "David Rider: Off Broadway," Rider speaks of the death and funeral of his "hero": "I saw the way he [Pope John Paul II] impacted the entire world for the choice he made for the priesthood. I felt well up within me also the desire to follow in his footsteps and become a priest." Despite a promising theatre career before him, Rider chose the priesthood and now dances "with the desire to bring forward the Kingdom of God," proudly wearing his collar.

On the heels of the dancing priests, Sister Cristina, the winner of the TV show, ‘The Voice of Italy,’ has released her first single: "Like a Virgin." According to the RNS report, "Sister Cristina, 26, says her version of the salacious pop song is a 'testimony of God’s capacity to turn all things into something new' as well as her personal calling to be a nun."

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Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.