Richard Simmons and His Brother Returned to Catholicism

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https://www.ncregister.com/blog/richard-simmons-catholic-faith

Remembering Richard Simmons and His ‘Extreme Catholic’ Faith

The Catholic convert told his fans earlier this year that he and his brother had returned to Mass.

Alyssa Murphy Blogs July 16, 2024

Fitness guru Richard Simmons died over the weekend at the age of 76, just one day after his birthday. Earlier in the year, Simmons spoke publicly about a past diagnosis of skin cancer, but an interview that was published just a day before his birthday revealed the aerobics instructor to be in good health and exhibiting his ever-cheerful attitude. Simmons told People magazine that he felt “good,” adding that he was “grateful to be alive.”

“I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people.”

Richard Simmons

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Jul 12, 2024@TheWeightSaint

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Replying to @TheWeightSaint

It was my birthday when we taped Groovin in the House . …that one was a three dimensional three foot cake in the shape of one of my Dalmatians … You know I cried. So many of you have sent me birthday wishes on my Facebook and other platforms. I really appreciate that. 16/17

Richard Simmons

@TheWeightSaint

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I don’t know when your birthday is but I wish you a happy and healthy birthday! 17/17 Love, Richard

Sadly, Simmons fell on the evening of his birthday but did not call for medical attention. His housekeeper found him, unresponsive, the next morning.

His brother, Lenny, took to social media, asking the public to remember Simmons the way he always was: happy.

"Hello Everyone, I don’t want people to be sad about my brother. I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people. He called, wrote, and emailed thousands of people throughout his career to offer help. 1/2"

Although many people know this celebrity for his energy, his empathy and his big heart, news circulated this week about his Catholic faith and how, at one point, he even discerned entering the priesthood.

Richard Simmons

@TheWeightSaint

Part 2 I went home to announce to my parents that I wanted to become Catholic. They told me when I was 15 I could make that decision for myself. I was faux Catholic for years. On Sunday my brother and I would go to church. What a place!"

Simmons became a Catholic during his teens years attending New Orleans’ Cor Jesu High School, now known as Brother Martin Catholic High School.

Struggling with his body image during adolescence, he fought to lose weight and went on to become one of the most recognizable figures in the world, motivating adults and children alike to take their health seriously.

Although he used to travel the world with his inspiring messages, he spent recent years communicating with his fan base online.

An interview from 2012 in the Tampa Bay Times asked Simmons about his Catholic faith and studying for the priesthood. Simmons answered:

“I thought that was my calling. I was raised extremely Catholic in New Orleans. I thought that’s what I wanted to be, but it wasn’t.”

Writing consistently on Twitter, now known as X, Simmons shared earlier this year about going to confession for the first time:

Richard Simmons

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Mar 6, 2024@TheWeightSaint

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Replying to @TheWeightSaint

We also joined the choir. When I sang, the choir director Ms. Elise came up to me and said, “Why do you have to sing so loud?” So I lowered my voice to blend in. At 15 I was baptized and confirmed on the same day.

Richard Simmons

@TheWeightSaint

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Then I had to go into an ornate box in the back of the church so I could make confession.The priest sat in the middle and I had to kneel and tell the priest my sins…I thought to myself, “How much time does this priest have?” I told him I stole a candy bar once then paid for it.

 

He told the priest, he recounted online, that he sometimes “drove my parents crazy,” adding, “I also told him that I fought with my brother. A little bit. I had to say 20 Hail Marys and 20 Our Fathers … [a]nd I did ... .”

He also admitted that he had lived as a “faux” Catholic for years, but how, earlier this year, he and his brother had returned to Mass.

Simmons’ personal style and relatable struggles, which he shared so publicly, impacted millions around the country and across the globe, as can be seen in the outpouring of love and support by so many offering condolences since the news of his passing.

Many of the comments about him remember the way he loved with no judgment and accepted everyone with an eagerness to understand and sympathize with whatever problems they faced. As one blogger wrote: “In his eyes, every individual he met reflected the divine essence and likeness of God.”

Dominican Father Thomas Petri of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., also posted on social media about the fitness guru:

Fr. Thomas Petri, OP

@PetriOP

Perhaps a TMI confession: I was born in the late 70s. As a child, I had a real fascination and admiration of Richard Simmons. In those days and in that era, I obviously had no sense of agenda, or that he might one day be a topic of sexuality or orientation. In my childhood eyes, he seemed to me a living embodiment of the values and energy I also saw on shows like Sesame Street—positive, energetic, empathetic, and encouraging.

Father Petri shared:

“I thought his retirement from public life was well-deserved and I wonder if he couldn’t make sense of everything going on in our world today. Since his recent passing, I’ve learned he’d been a practicing Catholic all his life and once discerned whether he should be a priest or a monk,” adding, “I’ll be offering a Mass for his soul.”

Prayers for Richard’s eternal repose.

And, as most of us this week are trying to make sense of the world around us, given recent troubling events, may we pray to have the same kindhearted and loving attitude Richard Simmons always seemed to exhibit and, like he did, see the face of God in everyone we meet.