Dancing Italian Priest Is A YouTube Hit

A video of an Italian priest who celebrated a wedding by singing and dancing that was uploaded to YouTube has become a big hit in Italy. The video shows Father Bruno Maggioni at work and is titled “Matrimonio con canto finale inaspettato” (Wedding with unexpected song at the end). It has received more than one million views. The site shows Father Maggioni hosting a wedding ceremony at the Sacro Cuore (Sacred Heart) church just north of Milan in Limbiate, Lombardy. Father Maggioni said the song and dance was his present to the bride and groom. He performs to the song ‘Mamma Maria’, which was a hit in 1982 for the Italian band Ricchi e Poveri (Rich and Poor), which booms out from a CD player placed on the altar. The happy and enthusiastic grey-haired bespectacled priest is shown dancing, singing, jumping, clapping and twirling at the ceremony. He finishes his performance by hugging the bride and groom and calling out “Long live the newlyweds!” Father Maggioni told ‘Merateonline.it’ that his impromptu song and dance was conducted in harmony with, and with respect towards, the context and function of the liturgy. He explained that he is an exuberant, happy and sociable priest, and that his actions were those of someone trying to encourage people to come to church through happiness and congeniality.