While his name isn’t Father McAwesome, Reverend Zoltan Lendvai is a pretty awesome guy for a member of the clerty. Rev. Lendvai is a Roman Catholic priest at a parish in the small town of Redics, Hungary, a city on the border with Slovenia, who has turned to an unusual skill set to reach out to the kids of the community: he’s the skateboarding priest. A video of Father Lendvai skateboarding has become a huge viral video hit on YouTube, and having watched it, the skateboarding priest is pretty awesome. (Warning: the backing song has some language in it. Also, the backing song is Blink 182.)
“Many times I have felt that this is the way I can bring many people a bit closer to Jesus,” said Rev. Lendvai, who follows the teachings of Italian St. John Bosco, who ministered to poor children and used toys and games as part of his outreach program. He began skateboarding at 14 while in school, but didn’t pick the habit back up until he served in the town of Kormend, Hungary, and realized his skills on the board gave him a special outreach ability to speak to troubled teens.
Lendvai’s board features, of course, the papal coat of arms. Lendvai says he’s given six of his custom boards away to young parishioners. Even though I’m not a Catholic, this is pretty awesome.
Tags: Redics, Hungary, skateboarding priest, viral videos, youtube, funny videos, funny skateboarding priest, Reverend Zoltan Lendvai, Roman Catholic Church, skateboarding minister, unusual videos, outreach