Priest stripped of duties for letting Sabrina Carpenter film music video in church

A Catholic Priest has been disciplined after allowing pop singer Sabrina Carpenter to film a music video inside a church in Brooklyn.

The video for 24-year-old Carpenter’s single “Feather” was released on 31 October, and has now been viewed 11 million times on YouTube.

Parts of the video were filmed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Annunciation Parish, a Roman Catholic Church within the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn.

In the video, several men fight over Carpenter and eventually kill one another. Their pastel-coloured coffins are displayed upright within the church, while Carpenter sings and dances in a brief black dress.

Within days of the video’s release, the church’s pastor Monsignor Jamie J Gigantiello had been stripped of his administrative duties for failing to follow policy on allowing filming on church property.

Bishop Robert J Brennan then led a Mass of Reparation on the church, which the diocese said “restored the sanctity of this church and repaired the harm”.

In a press release to the Catholic News Agency, the Diocese of Brooklyn said that it was “appalled at what was filmed.”

Gigantiello also apologised to parishioners in a post on the church’s Facebook page on 6 November. “Undoubtedly many are upset over what has transpired,” he wrote. “No greater than myself.”

He said that a neighborhood video crew had approached him in September about filming a music video for Carpenter on the church, and that his online research into the singer “didn’t reveal anything questionable”. He said he approved filming as a part of an “effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a big a part of this community”.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial

Sign up

Although he gave his permission for filming to happen, Gigantiello maintained that “the parish staff and I weren’t aware that anything provocative was occurring within the church nor were we aware that faux coffins and other funeral items could be placed within the sanctuary. Most of the video was speculated to be filmed outside, near the church, which it was.”

Gigantiello said that the $5,000 the parish received for allowing the video to be filmed could be donated to Bridge to Life. He concluded: “After much prayer and reflection over the previous few days, I even have come to the conclusion that this possibly God’s way of calling me to reflect on my great variety of responsibilities with a view to discern His will.”

The Independent has approached Carpenter’s team for comment.