A priest has racked up millions of views on TikTok after posting videos dancing with his Catholic catechism students at a high school in Poland. He is also using the platform to promote religious teaching.
Father Adrian Chojnicki, who teaches at a school in the city of Rybnik, regularly posts videos under the name “Padre Adriano”.
They include choreographed dance routines performed by himself and his students to viral songs by artists such as Beyoncé and Meghan Trainor, as well as recreations of popular online trends.
@padre.adriano Sie wjezdza z kopyta 😁 #viral #dc #foryou #duet #ksiądz #uczen #nauczyciel #kopernik ♬ Put It On Me Clean By YoungBoy Never Broke Again – Soap Radio. 🧼
His most popular post has been watched 1.5 million times while others have around 1 million views.
As well as the dance clips, Chojnicki uses the platform to promote traditional Catholic beliefs such as abstaining from sex before marriage and finding salvation through faith.
Many of his videos strive to show that religion classes are not boring and that young people do attend mass. In his first video posted on TikTok, Chojnicki and his students proclaim that attending catechism class makes you a “10/10”.
@padre.adriano To oczywiste, piękne jest czyste. #championsleague #foryou #viral #dc #dlaciebie #tiktok #funnytiktok #sex ♬ UEFA Champions League Anthem (Full Version) – UEFA & Tony Britten
Chojnicki’s newfound fame comes at a time when the church in Poland is particularly keen to promote a more positive view of itself among young people.
Catholic hierarchs have admitted concern at the rapidly declining number of students attending optional Catholic catechism classes, which are hosted and funded by the public school system but with teachers and curriculums chosen by the church.
Most pupils still attend the lessons, but recent data has shown that less than 25% of young Poles now regularly practise religion, down from a figure of almost 70% in the early 1990s.
“As a priest, I want to show that the church is not so rigid, and that it radiates positive energy and is attractive,” Chojnicki told local news outlet Rybnik.com.pl in an interview last week. “I believe that it is necessary to show a positive Church. It should be where young people are.”
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is used by over 1 billion people worldwide every month. The majority of its users are under the age of 24, making it a popular platform to reach young people.
Chojnicki is far from the first religious figure to join TikTok. Among the most popular religious orders and figures on the platform are the Daughters of St Paul, a group of Catholic nuns in the United States who have drawn over 150,000 followers.
@padre.adriano W 15 sekundach o całym życiu. #świadectwo #świadectwowiary #god #jesus #hollyspirit #nawrócenie #ksiądz #godisgood ♬ original sound – OnlyByYourGraceJesus – OnlyJesus ✞
Main image credit: padre.adriano/TikTok (screenshot)
Anna Hackett is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a recent graduate of European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has had previous journalistic experience with the Irish Independent News & Media group.
