Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

May 13, 1978: Father Guido Sarducci makes his first appearance on Saturday Night Live

The gossip columnist and rock critic for L'Osservatore Romano, Father Guido took form early in the 1970s, when comedian Don Novello bought components of a priest's outfit from a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. He would make occasional appearances on Laugh In and The Smothers Brothers Show, but he would make his biggest mark stating on this night when, on an episode hosted by Richard Dreyfuss, he would appear in a skit about how one could pay for their sins. Suffice it to say that there's a price for everything, and it adds up.

Father Guido would go on to make 31 appearances on SNL, the most of any recurring character, mainly on segments of Weekend Update. He would also cut two albums of his own and make spot appearances on others, and popped up in a variety of TV episodes and movies. He's even crossed over into mainstream religious coverage, appearing on Al Franken's radio show to cover the death of John Paul II and appearing on an episode of Countdown to discuss The Da Vinci Code. The comic appeal of a chain-smoking priest wearing tinted glasses never dulls.