Jordan Palmer didn’t expect a 22-second video to change his week.
He uploaded it to introduce himself as the new vicar of the Church of St Edward the Confessor, in Romford, London. Nothing more. But TikTok had other ideas: more than two million views and 150.000 likes later, half the internet had dubbed him the “sexy priest” of the moment.
What few people know is that Jordan already knew every corner of that community. Between 2018 and 2020, he was a youth worker at St Edward’s and a key figure at the Ed’s Place youth center. He then went to Cambridge to train, completed his master’s degree in theology, and served in several parishes before returning. “Romford has left its mark on me and holds a very special place in my heart”, he said upon returning. He was never looking for fame: he was coming home.
