The Star Wars Trailer Is Out, And This Catholic Priest Can't Handle It

The Star Wars Trailer Is Out, And This Catholic Priest Can't Handle It

The Force is strong with this one.

A Dutch Catholic priest filmed himself watching the second trailer for the upcoming addition to the Star Wars saga for the first time -- and it soon became clear he’s a big fan.

Father Roderick Vonhögen’s eyes lit up with joy as soon as he pressed play on director J.J. Abrams’ teaser for "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens."

“Oooh,” the priest gleefully exclaimed as he basked in the glow of his computer screen. “New music!”

Last week, a YouTube mashup illustrating Matthew McConaughey's reaction to the teaser went viral. But unlike that video, Vonhögen’s geek-out session was completely genuine. As the trailer progressed, teasing epic battle scenes and the return of familiar characters, Vonhögen was unable to contain his excitement.

“Oh my gosh. ... What? ... HOLY COW!” he said.

His video was a big hit, accumulating nearly 400,000 views in just five days.

There’s a reason why Vonhögen calls himself the “Geek Priest.” A member of the Archdiocese of Utrecht in the Netherlands, Vonhögen started blogging about Star Wars in 1996 and produces a podcast on “The Secrets of Star Wars.”

He founded the Star Quest Production Network, a Catholic organization that uses new media to reach the masses. SQPN finds intersections between faith and geek culture -- hosting podcasts about Harry Potter, Middle Earth and Doctor Who.

The network focuses on “building bridges between the dominant popular culture of the Western world and the religious culture and tradition of the Catholic Church in order to reach an audience that has little or no relationship with that Church,” according to its website.

Vonhögen is planning to start a YouTube series about the upcoming Star Wars movies.

"Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens" opens in theaters on Dec. 18.

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