Have you ever heard two popular priests duel out over the game “Which Rock Said It?” St. Peter (the Rock of the Church) or Dwane Johnson (the Rock of the Wrestling world)?!
Taylor Schroll of Forte Catholic, hosted just such a match on his 100th Episode celebration. Along with six other popular guests, Fr. Anthony Sciarappa and Fr. Jared Cooke took part in the festivities.
We at EpicPew wanted to learn more about the podcast, and it’s host on this Epic Episode. This fun, entertaining and enlightening show that aims to encourage us and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain . So let’s jump right into the interview!
How did you get into podcasting?
I am an auditory learner and have always loved the medium of radio/podcasts. I listen to an assortment of podcasts for a few hours each day as I am going about my day driving, working, etc. I fell in love with radio and audio editing in an internship for a Catholic radio station in college and have wanted a show ever since. Three years ago I channelled my inner “persistent widow” from Jesus’ parable in Luke 18 and asked our local radio station once a month for a year until they finally caved and said I could have a show. Outside of podcasting I am also a full-time missionary with Ablaze Ministries where we equip, train & mentor the next generation of youth ministers while leading young people closer to Christ and His Church I also travel the country speaking and leading worship for diocesan, parish and other Church events.
What do you think about having 100 episodes?
I honestly can’t believe it is already here. We started this journey over two years ago and it is really cool to see where the show has come and the growing community the show has around it. We have eight guests on the 100th who have had a huge role both on the air and behind the scenes in making the show a success and we just have a huge celebration of the fun we have had and what God has done.
What does the future hold for the podcast?
The good thing about the current state of the show is that I think we have really hit a groove. The last two months of the shows have been some of the most fun to create yet, and people have responded really well. My hope for the future is that the community around the show will continue to grow and expand (with the help of the community itself) to spread the #MakeCatholicismFunAgain message so that more and more people will understand the true joy of the Gospel. We look forward to continuing to grow in entertaining ways to share the truths of the faith so we can all continue taking steps towards holiness, and laugh along the way.
If you haven’t listened to the podcast before now, catch up with this list of the of the top 10 most popular episodes to check out:
10. Episode 94
Ep. 94 — Taylor has a reallllly bad week and shares about it. But we find joy in our podcast crossover event with Everyday Catholics & are joined by a recent high school grad to talk about continuing to grow in faith despite peer pressure and temptation.
9. Episode 71
Ep. 71 — Allison Sullivan on women’s ministry, “Are You Smarter Than a 3rd Grader?” Catholic edition & Spiritual Deserts
8. Episode 65
Ep. 65 — Ali Hoffman on the importance of joy & identity, Jesus gives a speech at SLS18 & a “Mass Text” segment seeing the Scriptures in a way you never have!
7. Episode 88
Ep. 88 — Fr. Anthony Sciarappa (the king of Catholic Twitter) talks his “firsts” in the history of the priesthood, Brian Baudoin takes over the show for a segment & we talk about the new idea of moral licensing.
6. Episode 82
Ep. 82 — Fr. Jared Cooke makes his long awaited appearance as co-host. We laugh(a lot!) and talk highlights from his first year as a priest, confession, who’s holier, ambition, & went toe to toe in a trivia game.
5. Episode 67
Ep. 67 — Everett Fritz joins the show to talk about discipleship being more than just a buzzword. We also talk about what the deal is with Ordinary Time.
4. Episode 61
Ep. 61 — The strangest episode on the top 10! No guest, just Taylor and producer Sam preparing for Christmas by ranking favorite Christmas songs, playing Advent Bingo and hearing the Christmas story as told my children. People listen to this episode constantly even though its the summer lol. Wishful thinking I guess.
3. Episode 35
Ep. 35 — This was the #1 episode in show history for over a year! Marcel LeJeune talks about millennials and the rest of the show is laden with music as we play “Worship song or love song” and connect one of Taylor’s favorite R&B songs with Song of Songs.
2. Episode 57
Ep. 57 —Anthony D’Ambrosio speaks about the importance of art and collaboration in the Church today. We also talk about life after the Resurrection and introduce the now extremely popular segment “Unpublished Worship Songs” where Taylor writes and performs songs based on Scriptures no one would EVER write a song about!
1. Episode 96
Ep. 96 — The most downloaded and talked about show in Forte Catholic History! Catholic Twitch Star Bearded Blevins, Bible Lens App Hilarity & Chris Agron’s Catholic Memes.
BONUS EPISODES:
Shaun McAfee, creator of EpicPew, has been a guest on the show twice!! Take a listen to Ep. 98 and Ep. 76 and enjoy!
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