NEW YORK (RNS) — As Anthony Gross left Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Pompeii Church, a Catholic parish in downtown Manhattan, a fellow parishioner stopped him as he exited the sanctuary. “Do us a favor and try not to be shirtless in the video for this parish,” the man told him.
Gross, 22, a social media influencer who recently moved to New York City, has been posting a viral video series in which he ranks Catholic churches, grading them from A to F based largely on a single visit. The short, lighthearted videos follow a familiar arc: Gross leaves his apartment, attends Mass and often returns home, ending the clip by taking off his shirt and jumping into bed.
Less reliant on research and more on “vibes,” Gross said, his most popular church-ranking video, posted last month, has received more than 1.5 million views.
His review from his Jan. 11 visit to Our Lady of Pompeii earned the parish a “D” rating, with Gross warning other young adults that it might not be the church for them, calling it the “quickest Mass in the city” with limited music and the absence of a social scene that evening. He added that he would not be “keeping his shirt on” for that parish anytime soon.
The video has 143,000 views and comments that include “40-minute mass you get an automatic B at least” and “Pompeii was my grandparent’s parish!”
Some church leaders and members have seen increased attendance after being featured in Gross’ videos, while others are critical of the tangible effects his fast-and-loose approach has in real time on their communities. Some local Catholics argue the series promotes a homogeneous version of Catholicism that risks undermining the diversity of parish life in a city where many churches are already closing.
In an interview with RNS before Mass, Gross said the purpose of the series matters more to him than debates about its packaging.
“I hope the series is bringing more people out that wouldn’t typically go to Mass to try some of the best churches for young adults,” said Gross, who has about 113,000 followers on Instagram and 46,000 followers on TikTok.
Gross, who moved from Wisconsin to New York last summer, has spent the past two years building a following through lifestyle, fitness, faith and entrepreneurial content. He started posting about his church visits at the end of October 2025 and has since gained about 10,000 followers, he said.
His videos have become widely recognizable across New York, particularly among young adults. The videos also expose a desire among some young Catholics, particularly Generation Z and younger, to find a church that functions somewhere between a place of worship and a social space.
“I just enjoy highlighting churches and helping people, especially people new to the city, find new places to go,” Gross said.
When identifying parishes to feature, Gross relies on a mix of direct outreach from viewers, personal recommendations, Google searches and ChatGPT. “I just figure out what time I want to go, then look up Catholic churches in New York with this Mass time,” he said.
Emilia Tanu Chornay, 30, a writer and parishioner at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer on the Upper East Side, said she first encountered Gross’ videos on her social media feed and dismissed them as “rage bait.” He graded her parish a “B,” calling it a stunning church but saying he did not get a strong sense of community.
“I think it’s very harmful to take that same, optimized approach toward a parish,” said Chornay, who has lived in New York City since 2017. She said she values churches that may lack “vibes” or large numbers of young adults but that offer a deep sense of history and tradition.
At the same time, the mother of two said she is glad some parishes with strong young adult ministries are being recognized. Still, she’s troubled by the idea that young adults should continue moving from parish to parish in search of one tailored to their preferences.
“I think it’s particularly dangerous,” she said, “because it implies this undercurrent of transiency.”
The Rev. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, a priest at St. Vincent Ferrer, said parishioners from across the country have been calling his office since the video was posted, asking whether he was aware of it. His parish’s communications inbox has been flooded with messages from congregants urging him to ask Gross to return to the young adult Mass at noon on Sundays, when dozens of young adults regularly gather afterward for coffee.
“We were given an unfair showing because Gross just went to a random Mass rather than coming when our community has its activities,” Yungwirth said. “I think most of our parishioners are a little bit frustrated that we got shortchanged.”
But Yungwirth said the church series does foster some “healthy competition” among parishes. Ultimately, since he believes St. Vincent Ferrer’s young adult community is already substantial, he said the main takeaway is about promoting its visibility. “If anything, it would be, can we do a better job of using social media to advertise ourselves, so to speak, to share what we’re doing here?” Yungwirth said.
The Manhattan priest said he is unsure if he will reach out to Gross and invite him to attend the parish’s young adult Mass. If such a visit were to happen, though, the priest would have one request. “I just asked that he keep his shirt on,” Yungwirth said.
St. Joseph’s Parish in Greenwich Village is currently ranked No. 1 on Gross’ list. As he continues daring other parishes to attempt to unseat it, the impact of the series on the church has been tangible. Since Gross posted his video about St. Joseph’s in December, overall Mass attendance has increased by 15% to 20%, said the Rev. Jonah Teller, a Dominican friar at the parish. Its young adult program, In Vino Veritas — a cheese-and-wine discussion group held after the 6 p.m. Mass — has grown to more than 200 people, filling the church’s compact lower-level space typically used for church activities. That Mass itself, the most popular among young adults at the parish, features contemporary music with guitar and a band.
“The past few Sundays, we’ve had people standing literally on the front steps of the church trying to get to Mass because there’s just not room,” Teller said.
Kathryn Kurt, who recently moved to New York City and works as a consultant and budding content creator, had messaged Gross on LinkedIn about visiting St. Joseph’s. After his video was posted, she said she noticed a change in atmosphere at the church.
“Whenever I’m sitting in St. Joe’s and it’s so packed, I’m like, what are the churches that are empty now because of this?” Kurt said. “I don’t think it’ll matter that much because ultimately St. Joe’s is drawing a crowd of young people who are already moving in and out of the city pretty fast.”
Teller said reaching the top of Gross’ rankings was a “dopamine hit,” but he also views it as an opportunity to engage more young people in worship.
“People have found St. Joseph’s, and they’ve been really energized by being around people their own age,” he said. “They’re going back to church and taking their faith seriously, maybe for the first time in a while.”
Teller pointed to three churches in particular — St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral and St. Joseph’s — that have become known as “the places to go for young adults.” That could signal a deeper need across the city’s parishes, he said. “There are 8 million people. You shouldn’t know about the three churches that people talk about; you should just have a more vibrant ecosystem of churches.”
For young adults, attending parishes where their friends and peers gather is a natural entry point for those returning to the church. Teller said he hopes newcomers will move beyond In Vino Veritas and become involved in the parish’s other 12 ministry programs, small groups and engagement opportunities.
“People are just trying to find connection,” he said. “I think it’s an on-ramp.”
For Gross, the appeal of any church is about shared experience and relatability in the pews. Acknowledging that his worship-related needs may change as he gets older, he puts a good homily and opportunity for social connection above anything else, for now.
“If something’s working and you’re getting people excited for Mass every single week, and then those people are going to go out and tell their friends, it’s like a movement,” Gross said. “If you’re in your 20s and you struggle with meeting people and you don’t want to just go to bars, I would never encourage people to push away from this.”
Gross said that before moving to New York, he had never encountered church-based gatherings specifically geared toward young adults. He plans to take advantage of the experience while he can.
“I would say these church after-parties have been such an amazing way to meet people,” he said. “I’ve been blown away. I didn’t even know stuff like this existed.”
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts