Meet the real ‘hot priest’: Handsome Old Etonian vicar causes a stir as he travels across London with a portable prayer service
- Pat Allerton is a vicar in Notting Hill who is taking services across the capital
- Hunky priest is making waves on Instagram with his trendy take on religion
- Former Etonian is practicing across London with loudspeakers and microphones
- Plays Amazing Grace on speakers in streets before inviting residents to pray
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
An Old Etonian handsome vicar dubbed the ‘portable priest’ online has gained thousands of followers as he crosses the capital with his travelling services.
Pat Allerton, a vicar in Notting Hill, is making waves on Instagram with his trendy take on religion amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The handsome vicar has been taking to the streets of the city to ‘take church to the people’, playing Amazing Grace on speakers in residential streets before inviting residents to pray.
He told Tatler: ‘I’m here for everyone, religious or not. I simply want people to know that even in the darkest valley there is light, there is hope and there is a God that’s here to help.’
Handsome vicar Pat Allerton, from London, (right) has gained thousands of followers on Instagram who follow his inspirational 5 minute services
The handsome preacher faced a breakthrough moment on 26 March, the first Thursday after the UK had entered lockdown.
He visited Portobello Road where he introduced himself as the local vicar and played the hymn, before inviting people to join him in the Lord’s prayer.
After his five-minute service, he was met with a moment’s silence before the street erupted into applause and shouts of requests to return.
Pat has been dashing around the capital since, performing 51 of his portable services and visiting Chelsea, Kensington, the City of Westminster, Wandsworth, and Shepherd’s Bush.
The ‘portable priest’, pictured celebratin at the Church Times Cricket Cup in October 2019, has wowed residents across London with his services in which he plays Amazing Grace and performs the Lord’s prayer
Among the services he has conducted, he has offered services at seven hospitals, one care home and one prison.
He revealed how one particularly striking service came in the ‘shadows of Grenfell Tower’ and called it ‘incredibly emotional.’
He said: ‘To hear the cheering and whooping after I put down the microphone sent shivers down my spine.’
In another emotional moment, he was requested by a lady in Wandsworth who lost her husband to coronavirus and couldn’t have a funeral.
The priest, pictured on a day out with family, said the experience has been ‘humbling’ and revealed how he has been blown away by the reception from Londoners
He revealed how the ‘whole street turned out’ for the service, saying it was ‘the closest moment she had to saying goodbye to him.
He has since gained thousands of followers on Instagram, who follow him through the city as he posts different clips from services across the capital.
Pat went on to call it ‘an honour’ to have an ‘amazing audience’ at a ‘strange and daunting time’.