“He won the hearts of the internet,” someone posted on X (formerly Twitter), after the September 19 Jeopardy! episode aired featuring Father Steve Jakubowski, 29, a parochial vicar at St. Ignatius Martyr parish in Austin, Texas.
“They could not have picked a better person [to be on the show],” says Lori Nava, a youth minister at the parish. “He’s so smart. He’s fun. He’s so good with the kids. He brings with him such zeal and energy. He’s a joy.”
Father Jakubowski’s vocation was front and center on the show. He wore his black clerics/white collar, and a large cross dangled from his neck. Ken Jennings, the host, besides courteously addressing him as “Father Steve,” made several quips referencing his vocation. The priest’s quiet charisma, combined with his clerical identity, generated a buzz on social media.
Being on TV and competing on a show he had watched as a boy was fun. But it did serve a higher purpose, says Father Jakubowski. “I hope some good came out of it. My job is to preach the Gospel. That has nothing to do with Jeopardy!. But it does reach a large audience. So I hope I made a positive impression of a priest.”
To read more about how Father Jakubowski did on the show, click here.