The description underneath the 2012 “Stuff Catholic Girls Say!” video says, “Yes, we are Catholic. Yes, we do think it’s ok to make fun of ourselves.”
Bridget Wilson, one of the creators of the video, is now an administrative assistant for the diocesan Office of Family Life. At the time the video was shot, a lot of “Stuff People Say” videos were trending on social media and Wilson and her friend Kimberly Rogers thought of doing their own.
“We were driving to the March for Life and the idea came up,” said Wilson. Almost overnight, their video had more than 500 views. Today it has 550,000.
“We had no idea that it would be so popular,” said Wilson. “We thought that it was just from people watching it at our school (Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio).”
While Wilson doesn’t love the notoriety, she had fun making it. “I think my favorite part was going up to people and saying ‘I love your cardigan’ and ‘I’ll pray for you.’ ”
Here are six videos made by people who are unafraid to poke fun at Catholic culture.
1. Nothing gets at the heart of being a Catholic young adult like the “Stuff Catholics Girls Say!” video, from angst over boyfriends entering seminary to missing St. John Paul II. If you’ve ever actively discerned the religious life, lost your catechism in an oversized purse or stressed out over the modesty of your outfit, this video is for you.
If you have any familiarity with Protestant culture,“Shoot Christians Say” is a good one too. Learn about buzzwords like “fellowshipping,” Christian radio stations and a long parody of Christian conference names, like Ignite, Bridge, Dive, Fire, Catalyst, Blue and Clear. (No offense to our own Bash and Rally.)
2. No mention of Catholic comedy would be complete without a plug for Judy McDonald. Here’s a clip of her talking about Ash Wednesday and bands of roving nuns at the Vatican.
3. This animated video series “Give Up Aul Yer Sins” combines all the humor of little kids telling stories with Irish accents. The voices are original recordings of students from a Dublin classroom in the 1960s
4. Stephen Colbert is a well-known Catholic, and his humor shines in this song and liturgical dance skit to the classic hymn — “The King of Glory.” Just wait for it to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
5. Full disclosure, the young adult creators of “Messy Mondays” are Protestant, but between their many videos on Christian dating and homeschooling, there’s plenty of overlap for Catholics, too. This clip is a humorous take on how Christians often forget to make time for God.
6. “There’s a little black spot on your head today,” begins this quirky video on Lent. “This Time of 40 Days” vlogger Nick Alexander sings through the struggles of meatless Fridays and giving things up.
Also check out his “YMCA” parody — “RCIA.”
