Could viral videos of a priest drumming on Instagram be a catalyst for conversion in people’s lives?
For Dominican priest Father Hyacinth Marie Cordell, O.P., this just might be the case.
With more than two million views, over 200,000 likes, and a personal comment from Metallica, Father Hyacinth has become an overnight drumming sensation on Instagram.
As a Dominican priest and pastor of Saint Patrick Church in Philidelphia, he is beginning to navigate between his new-found social media stardom and continuing to pastor his parish--something he never expected to experience.
Father Hyacinth spoke to ChurchPOP about the new opportunities this opens in his life, his vocation story, and how he became the drumming priest we now see on social media.
“I wanted to be a famous drummer,” he said as he began to detail how he got to where he is now.
When Fr. Hyacinth was little, his father, who was a drummer before marrying his mother, would occasionally return to his craft and drum for town plays. This was how Father began picking up some beats and learning how to catch on to drumming quickly.
It was in high school that Father had entered what would become a deep spiritual conversion.
“I didn’t know how the two would go together,” he said as he noted that his growing passion for drumming and a deeper call toward Christ emerged simultaneously.
When speaking to Shalom World a couple of months ago, he said, “I had plans for the rest of my life, I wanted to be a famous drummer, I assumed I was going to be married, I had names for the kids I was going to have, and I had it all planned out, but I never asked God what he wanted.”
A year after accepting a scholarship to a well-known school of music and securing a spot in the best college drumline in the country, he abruptly dropped out to intentionally discern the priesthood.
For a few years, he discerned with the Society of Our Mother of Peace, living in hermitages and participating in door-to-door evangelization in the inner city of St. Louis. Eventually, he found the Dominicans.
“I finally was where God was calling me," he told Shalom World. "Finally, this way of life fit.”
Now, he can be found on the Instagram page @benedictusesdomine, which was created by Father Hyacinth only two months ago in May.
When creating his first post, he decided to figure out a unique beat that he saw in a video posted by another drummer on Instagram and wanted to share the drum transcription he created for it.
“I didn’t know how tags or hashtags worked," he said. "I put my cell phone on a music stand, with the bottom of the stand blocking the mic...I didn’t realize that you can’t just click on links in Instagram...I did everything wrong.”
Yet somehow, his first video received 250,000 views and over 16,000 likes.
“All of a sudden, I found myself with a widely diverse audience of thousands. Many are not Catholic or practicing,” he shared.
At this point, some of the most famous drummers and notable musicians around the world have liked, commented, messaged, or even followed Father Hyacinth on Instagram. Tosin Abasi, Evan Marien, and El Estepario are just a few of those followers.
The Dominican priest told ChurchPOP that many have reached out to him sharing their love for how he combines music and his spirituality on his platform.
“Seeing a priest doing something in the realm of music and who tries to be positive and encouraging in comments can begin to break down some prejudices,” he shared.
When asked if he sees hearts soften towards the faith through his presence on social media, he said, “Many people have never met a priest or don’t have any connection to a priest. So, this has been a way to connect with lots of people who otherwise might have no connection to the Church.”
Father also shared that people have asked him pressing questions they have about the faith and even how they can learn about getting baptized.
Ultimately, despite Father Hyacinth’s aversion towards social media, his Instagram stardom has drawn hearts closer to Christ.
Now, he asks fellow Catholics to pray for him as he navigates his assignment as a pastor and this newfound opportunity for evangelization on social media.