Photo by Julianna Leopold

ATLANTA—Six priests delivered humor instead of homilies on Nov. 12, taking the stage at St. Pius X High School for a stand-up comedy show.  

The night was put together by The Quest (1160 AM) and hosted by Josh Harris of its Morning Quest weekday show. Dave Savage, programming and production manager of The Quest, and Harris delivered a few jokes on stage as well. For Harris, the night was surreal.  

“Just to see the joy etched on the priests’ faces was moving,” Harris said. “We got to watch them come alive on stage and show a completely different side of themselves.”  

The comedians of the night included: Father Daniel Brandenburg, LC, chaplain of Lumen Institute, Atlanta; Father Robbie Cotta, chaplain of St. Pius X High School; Father David DesPres, parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Atlanta; Father John Klein, LC, the Regnum Christi young men’s director and visiting priest at the Georgia Tech Catholic Center; Father Paul Porter, pastor of St. Mary Church, Rome; and Father Mark White, pastor of both Queen of Angels Church, Thomson, and St. Joseph Church, Washington.  

Father Mark White, pastor at Queen of Angels Church and St. Joseph Church, sits in the wings of the St. Pius X High School stage before his stand-up routine for “Atlanta’s Funniest Priests,” hosted by The Quest. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Father Tim Gallagher of St. Catherine Labouré in Jefferson led his brother priests in prayer prior to the program. Each priest performed an original routine, earning surprised looks from parishioners who had never seen their clergy quite like this before.  

The sold-out crowd roared with laughter with two hours’ worth of jokes about parish life, mishaps throughout the years and priesthood memories.  

Father White, who kicked off the show, used to perform stand-up comedy years ago. Now in a different lifestyle and setting, he shared that his routine back then “wasn’t the kind of material that I could use tonight. If I did, I’d have to go to confession.”  

Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Father DesPres shared jokes about his first year in the priesthood and being a self-proclaimed “granola guy.”  

A granola guy, Father DesPres, is a guy who loves hiking and early morning sunrises. He told a story of how he once fell through a rusty bridge on a hike, joking that “you all know priests make a promise of celibacy, well this fall was my promise of a celi-booster shot.”  

Having a homefield advantage as the school’s chaplain, Father Cotta heard a good amount of cheering when he stepped on stage. Students sitting on the front row held large cutout signs of the priest’s face, showing their support for him.  

Though the priests all wore their clerical collars, Father Klein also sported a shirt that read “priesthood rocks.”  

His set included dances, a guitar performance and a full-blown PowerPoint presentation. Though he was a bit nervous about his routine, Father Klein said that the night was one of his most fun experiences.  

Father John Klein, LC, Regnum Christi young men’s director and visiting priest at the Georgia Tech Catholic Center, performs a song during his set at “Atlanta’s Funniest Priests,” a sold-out show. Photo by Julianna Leopold

“Holiness and Jesus bring great joy to the soul,” he said. “Tonight, we just had good, authentic fun. The Catholic Church and Jesus own fun, so I hope we get more moments like this where we can use art, music and humor to strengthen the church.”  

Father Brandenburg, who started his set with, “I am not funny,” earned a roar of laughter for his bit about how he comes off as intense to most parishioners. Though unsure if he would do stand-up comedy again, he enjoyed the night.  

“This night was a great reminder that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously, and that humility and joy are a beautiful part of life,” he said.  

The comedy show’s closer, Father Porter, talked about how hard his job is, being the “vicar of Rome.”  

Father Porter’s parents were in the crowd, which opened an opportunity for the priest to make light-hearted jokes about them. He shared that his mother likes to “remind me that she’s my mom and rents me out for events like a priest for hire.” 

“It was so exciting being up there and making jokes with everyone,” Father Porter said. “It’s so nice for people to see that side of their priests.”