Hot priest under fire after promoting health supplements on social media because ‘prayer is not enough’
A ‘hot’ priest in Milan with more than 272,000 followers on Instagram has angered religious fans after he shared a video promoting a range of health supplements.
Father Alberto Ravagnani, 32, who leverages on his good looks to attract new followers to the Catholic faith, was criticised for encouraging followers to buy wellness supplements through his social media page.
His video, posted last week, showed Alberto living out his daily routine, which included spending time with his family, praying at church and working out with big weights, whilst keeping his health up with creatine, iso whey and Omega-3 supplements from a brand called Bond.
Speaking directly to his followers, Alberto said in his video that the supplements helped him regain energy to carry on his work, adding: ‘Prayer is not enough, little ones, So: Bond Supplements.’
Alberto labelled his video as a paid partnership with Bond and wrote in the caption: ‘Holy yes, but also healthy.’
He added in a comment: ‘Taking care of myself is a way of loving myself and respecting the health I have been given.
‘You can find a link in bio that takes you to the Bond Supplements shop. Put it to good use.’
In the video, which has attracted 450,000 views and over 8,000 likes, he told viewers that the supplements ‘don’t make me become Superman or Jesus Christ, but they help me to remain myself at my best’.
Alberto Ravagnani, 32, has sparked anger among his Instagram followers after sharing an advertisement promoting wellness supplements to his flock
But Alberto’s side hustle – on top of being an ordained priest since 2018 – has left a bad taste in the mouths of some followers, who said he has ‘crossed the line’.
One commenter wrote: ‘You are crossing the line Don, a priest must do something else. Forgive me but I mean it… [May] the Lord help you to discern.’
Another said: ‘Dear Don Alberto, you threw yourself into the world and that’s not good for you and for us. Go back to tradition, only there you will find the true way. Keeping you in my prayers.’
A third follower complimented Alberto’s video editing, but added: ‘A priest who spends more time promoting his own image than caring for souls has already stopped – in fact – being so.
‘This is not about using social media to evangelise. It’s all about using it to escape. Escaping from a life that, perhaps, was never really wanted.
‘Because those who are happy to be a priest don’t put themselves in the window like a product,’ they added.
Yet another person wrote: ‘I am completely speechless. I think that soon we will see that he will abandon his clothes, a little too much in the world… What a disappointment.’
Others accused the young priest of ‘leading [many souls] on the wrong path’ through his paid-for content and of being a ‘narcissist’.
The 32-year-old priest first rose to fame in 2020, when he started posting YouTube videos to keep in touch with young parishioners during Covid lockdown
Alberto received a slew of criticisms as followers commented on his video, but he defended his decision to shoot a paid advertisement
But Alberto defended his decision to create social media advertisements for brands like Bond and said it was a way to collect funds for his parish.
‘Try asking your pastor how he collects parish money. Festivals, markets, collaborations with local companies, etc. Here, I do the same, but online,’ he hit back.
To a follower who suggested he ask for donations, Alberto replied: ‘I can try but can you imagine if I ask for donations to buy cameras and make a podcast?
‘How do you think most people would react? Don’t you think they’d beat me because instead I should give the money to the poor and sick? I am not moving on easy ground.’
But followers aren’t the only ones displeased with Alberto’s extracurricular exercises.
He has been reportedly warned by his bishop that his advertising campaigns were ‘inappropriate’ and told he cannot repeat them without authorisation.
Alberto rose to fame in 2020 when his YouTube videos, aimed at staying in touch with his young parishioners, went viral as churches closed during the Covid lockdown and practising Catholics were forced to stay indoors instead of going to mass.
He became popular for his short videos that featured titles such as ‘TRAINING and EXERCISES for the spirit (going to the gym is not enough!)’ and garnered around 160,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Explaining why he turned to social media to broaden his reach, Alberto told Italian media that it was important to meet young people where they were – or risk them not listening at all.
‘[Kids won’t listen to us]; not because they don’t want to, but because we’re not talking to the or because we’re just telling them what everyone else does,’ he was quoted as saying.
