Skateboarding priest a YouTube hit

A Hungarian priest has become a YouTube hit after a video him skateboarding, while in full clerical dress, went viral on the video-sharing site.

More than 395,000 people have viewed the embedded video, with the 45-year-old Catholic priest displaying his skills on the skateboard. More than 98,000 have looked at a version of the same video with music added. Reverend Zoltan Lendvai is shown outside of his church in Redics. He is talking to a group of young people, who are clearly entertained. "There are many ways skateboarding can help bring people closer to God,” The Telegraph quoted Lendavi as saying. He had done some skateboarding when he was a teenager, and thought using one as a platform might be an effective way to reach youth. It seems to have worked, as three teenage boys who are new to the church began attending regularly after he spoke to them from his board. Lendvai said the idea came from Saint John Bosco, an Italian priest and educator in the 19th century who used games in his efforts to reach young people. It is said that the priest’s first skateboard featured the Papal coat of arms