GUATEMALA: CATHOLIC PRIEST FATHER RICHARD RESORTS TO RAPPING DURING SERMONS IN ATTEMPT TO INSPIRE CHURCHGOERS

Record ID: 864053

  • Title: GUATEMALA: CATHOLIC PRIEST FATHER RICHARD RESORTS TO RAPPING DURING SERMONS IN ATTEMPT TO INSPIRE CHURCHGOERS
  • Date: 12th January 2003
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF FATHER RICHARD RAPPING
  • Embargoed: 27th January 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA
  • City:
  • Country: Guatemala
  • Topics: Education,Quirky,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAENG9TJSD2M1E82IU0RCPSK5YE
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: A Catholic priest in Guatemala has resorted to rapping
    during his sermons in an attempt to excite and inspire
    churchgoers.



    For the past 12 years, Father Richard has been working
    overtime, serving double duty as the head fray in charge of
    the an order of priests who are dedicated to evangelism and
    when he's not saying Mass, or ministering to prisoners, he's
    in the studio or on stage.

    Fray Richard, "El Rapero de Dios" (God's Rapper), may very
    well be the first ordained Catholic priest to grab a
    microphone and rap all in the name of God.

    "To try to solve the problem of violence, I sing about
    non-violence," said Father Richard. "To try to solve problems
    of war, I sing about peace. I try to give young people a
    musical alternative, young people are sensitive, they listen.

    Although, I know there are also a lot of not so young people
    too who say that they don't like rap, but that they like MY
    rap."
    Father Richard writes, produces and performs his own raps,
    burning CDs and selling them for about four U.S dollars. He
    raised the roof in Spain, where last year, 5,000 teens showed
    up at one concert to hear him rap about embracing Christ and
    renouncing the Devil.

    His influence is also starting to be felt among
    Spanish-speaking U.S. Catholics, this past year, he clocked in
    performances in Catholic areas of Los Angeles and Chicago and
    is now planning a trip to New Orleans.

    As for his local parish in Antigua, Father Richard is a
    local celebrity, credited with attracting more young people to
    mass.

    "He animates us, wakes us up," said Silvia Gomez. "I have
    his cassette and I love to listen to it."
    "The Father has a way about him," said Baldemar Hernandez,
    another member of his church. "He's good with people, he's
    young and natural and he has a different way to communicate
    with God."
    Originally from Panama City, Father Richard's dad left
    home when he was 4, leaving his seamstress mother to raise him
    and three other sons. By the time he was a preteen, he was
    running with gangs, fighting in the streets, and selling
    drugs.

    When he wasn't running with the gangs, he was standing on
    street corners, singing and dancing to improvised tunes. At
    age 13, he attended his first religious retreat, and by 14 he
    had earned a scholarship to a seminary and decided to made a
    commitment to a life of religion and celibacy.
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