Inside Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier travels mainly on the run, his office in his backpack, on the lookout for fascinating subjects and people. He speaks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.
Last Wednesday evening, in the sacristy of the Marie-Reine-du-Monde cathedral, there was a crowd of priests. Among them, only one was holding a phone, fitted with a rod: Emanuel Zetino, better known as Padre Manolo by his Instagram and TikTok subscribers.
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This special Mass of Holy Wednesday, called the Chrism, was presented before some thousand faithful and at least a hundred priests.
Photo QMI Agency, Toma Iczkovits
Monsignor Christian Lépine blessed the oils in the metal vases that will be used for the sacraments on Wednesday.
There were blessed the sacred oils that will be used for the sacraments lavished in all the parishes of Montreal and Laval: baptism, confirmation, ordination, extreme unction.
With Padre Manolo, we are far from the model of the influencer who feasts on a plane en route to Cancún!
Thousands of subscribers
This 37-year-old influencer priest, who has no less than 15,300 Instagram followers and 32,300 on TikTok, explains to me that what he does is nothing revolutionary.
“There are already television screens in the cathedral, to allow people to see, and the ceremony is broadcast on YouTube. »
No less than 1300 people have seen this “chrism mass” online.
Photo QMI Agency, Toma Iczkovits
The priest Emanuel Zetino
If this figure impresses you, tell yourself that two TikTok videos of father Zetino each had more than 1.5 million views.
In one, he line dances with a team of altar boys to South African music (Jerusalema of Master KG).
In the other, in front of the cathedral, he dances with the newlyweds, their families and their guests, to the tune of Stromae.
A TikTok clip where he makes a censer at the end of his chains perform a complete 360° turn to techno music has garnered a total of 175,000 views.
known abroad
During a trip to the Vatican, Padre Manolo had the opportunity to realize that, among young international priests, he is beginning to be known.
“Like the statuary of the Stations of the Cross or like the stained glass windows telling the Gospel, my TikTok publications seek to transmit the sacred message of the Church and to spread a good mood nourished by Faith”, explains Father Zetino.
It was during the great closure linked to the pandemic, in 2020, that after a consultation with Archbishop Christian Lépine, Father Zetino resolved to add this media dimension to his apostolate.
Instagram and TikTok are often decried as vectors of narcissism, at odds with the Christian message of self-sacrifice.
“With social media, the danger is to return everything to its navel, whereas, as a priest, I must remain turned towards the Lord, so as not to get lost”, says Father Zetino.
full cathedral
For Easter tomorrow, the cathedral of Montreal will celebrate no less than five masses.
Like a snub to cancellations or health restrictions finally lifted, we expect to fill the cathedral during the ceremonies.
And at dinnertime, Father Zetino will also officiate a baptism: “I am discussing with the family the possibility of sharing a photo or a video”, he says.