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In an episode of the new, hilarious EWTN podcast "Catholics and Cappuccinos," host and Saturday Night Live alum Siobhan Fallon Hogan met with actor Kevin James to discuss a wide array of topics about Catholics and the culture at large.
About halfway through the episode, they chatted about the late, great comedian Chris Farley's Catholic faith. Fallon Hogan described going to Mass with him regularly.
"We lived in the same neighborhood, so we'd go to Mass together," Fallon Hogan explained. "Not many people knew it, but Chris was faithful ... so faithful."
Last year, Fallon Hogan appeared on the Reason for Hope podcast, where she spoke a little more in depth about Chris Farley, the larger-than-life comedian best known for his Saturday Night Live roles such as 'Matt Foley, the man with a van down by the river.'
Not many people know this quintessential Farley character was named after his rugby teammate from Marquette University in Wisconsin, who had become a Catholic priest.
"Of course, Chris had an addiction problem," Fallon Hogan told Reason for Hope, speaking about the actor's untimely 1997 death from a drug overdose at the age of 33. "That's how the devil got in...."
A reel published by @purely_catholic entitled “The Catholic Journey of Chris Farley,” briefly summarizes information from the 2015 documentary “I Am Chris Farley.”
It describes Farley as a faithful Catholic who attended Mass daily in college. It describes his college friend Matt Foley as an important influence in his life in those years; the two would meet often to discuss the Catholic faith, as well as Farley's lifelong struggles with addiction and depression.
Every year, Father Foley meets with Farley's family to celebrate Mass at the Resurrection Cemetery Chapel in Madison, Wisconsin, where Farley is buried.
ChurchPOP recently reached out to Father Foley in Chicago's Southside, where he has been serving at St. Gall's parish since 2022.
Father Foley is also the director of El Niño Rey, a mission in Quechultenango, Mexico, that works to break cycles of poverty and to build faith-based communities.
Father Matthew Foley spoke fondly of his old friend Chris Farley:
"He worked hard at his faith. There were many years when he was a daily Mass attendee, and he frequently participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance. Sure, he struggled. But in the end, I think Chris was a good Catholic because he recognized God's saving grace."
Back at "Catholics and Cappuccinos," Fallon Hogan closed her segment about Chris Farley by mentioning that the keynote speaker at his funeral "wasn't some celebrity; he was a shut-in that Chris visited."
She also mentioned how Farley gave her “The Clown's Prayer,” an excellent verse for anyone with a sense of humor – a great prayer to print out and hand to that family member with a funny bone.
The Clown's Prayer
Author Unknown
As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more happiness than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent
that I will fail to see the wonder
in the eyes of a child
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort
is to cheer people, make them happy
and forget - at least momentarily -
all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And, in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
‘When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile.’