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Viewers were slightly stunned to see a Catholic priest on September 19th’s episode of Jeopardy!
While fans of the show couldn’t help but share their delight at seeing Fr. Steve Jakubowski in his Roman collar — with comments on social media directed at his physical attributes — others were more impressed by his theological knowledge, with one person on X commenting that the parochial vicar at St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church in Austin, Texas “killed it” with his replies to the religious questions.
Unfortunately for the religious contestant, his answer in the final round about Frank Sinatra, which saw him risk $5,301, was incorrect and he left the show with $99.
(If you’re curious, the question was: Frank Sinatra got upset that a photo of him caught fire in a Brooklyn pizzeria in this film.” The priest guessed God Father II.)
A worthwhile appearance
However, Fr. Jakubowski explained to Fox News Digital that it was a “great experience.” Furthermore, he hopes it can serve a meaningful purpose:
Ken and all the producers and team were very kind to me with the novelty of having a Catholic priest on the show. I hope it gave a positive impression of my community and the Church. The show airs at 3:30 where I live in Austin, and so we had a watch party at our parish school with our students and their parents — tons of fun to share that with our parish.”
Interestingly his appearance on the gameshow that was first released 60 years ago, did encourage discussions other than his looks! As some people pointed out, ordinarily the host Ken Jennings refers to people by their first name, however, with the clergyman he continually referred to him as “Father Steve.”
This gesture of respect led to a discussion on the show’s Reddit page on the use of honorifics for contestants. While some people felt it was a little confusing to go against the show’s seemingly usual policy, someone did point out that Fr. Steve was “wearing his profession on his sleeve.”
And perhaps it is this exact image that Fr. Jakubowski was trying to highlight in reaching out to others beyond his usual community.
And today we celebrate...