A Catholic priest in Lakewood traded the altar for a comedy stage on Friday night, headlining two sold-out stand-up shows in his church basement. Father Witold Kaczmarzyk performed for a combined audience of 540 people, an event that is rarely seen in a parish setting.
Leading mass on Sundays in front of hundreds of parishioners does not rattle him. "I don't get nervous," he said. Friday was a different story. Describing his first experience doing stand-up, Kaczmarzyk called it "pretty stressful" and said he was shaking. "What am I doing with my life? I'm just a priest," he recalled thinking.
The shows follow an unexpected surge of online fame. Earlier this year, a parishioner photographed Kaczmarzyk zipping to church on a scooter, and the image spread widely online. That helped turn the priest into a social media sensation. "The scooter happened this summer," he said. "Facebook took off. I get two million views a month."
The scooter may have built an audience, but it could not help him once he was on stage. Alone with a microphone, Kaczmarzyk had to rely on his material, and several of his jokes landed especially well. One of them drew laughter when he told the crowd about his father's reaction to the plan. "I told my dad I was doing this and he said 'you are not funny,'" he said.
The polished performer on stage is not how Kaczmarzyk describes his younger self. "I used to be a shy guy, hiding from people back in high school and college," he said. Over time, he learned to push through his fears. "I had to convince myself to go out. Just do it," he said.
That approach appears to be working. On Sundays, Kaczmarzyk fills the sanctuary. On Friday night, he filled the basement, earning steady laughs and a standing ovation from audience members.
Some in the crowd arrived skeptical, wondering whether a priest could succeed at stand-up comedy. By the end of the night, Kaczmarzyk had answered that question. As the original report put it, he had a prayer after all.
