Parish priest's performance is one of Simon Cowell's 'favorite ever auditions'

Father Ray Kelly spent his life praising and worshiping God every day. When he wasn’t doing that, he would use his God-given singing talents and sing with family and friends.

It got to a point where the priest decided that he would take his chances on Britain’s Got Talent. The reception he got after his performance was nothing short of a miracle according to Faith Tap.

Father Ray Kelly went viral on the internet due to his stunning singing voice. He’s spent most of his life as a priest of St. Brigid's and St. Mary's parish at Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland.

Singing was a passion that he occasionally shared with those close to him. One of those little singing gigs is what lead him to Britain's Got Talent stage.

There, in front of millions of people watching at home and those at the venue, the priest would sing. His choice of song was Everybody Hurts by REM as he said it was close to his heart.

Kelly started his audition slowly with no one knowing what to expect. As the camera moved around the venue, people’s faces showed how they were affected by the moving performance.

“Father Ray, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect to be honest with you but I wanna tell you something, this is one of my favorite ever auditions. I really mean that.”

Simon Cowell, Faith Tap, April 23, 2018

As he kept singing, several audience members started to cheer. When he finally finished his performance, one of the judges, Simon Cowell, immediately stood up.

Cowell started clapping and cheering and the crowd went wild as they got up and joined him. It was quite evident that Kelly was moved by how his singing was received.

His voice had been smooth and powerful which was a rare combination nowadays. As the priest looked on at his standing ovation, Cowell gave him two thumbs up and sat down.

All four judges shared how touched they were by the priest’s performance and he got into the next round with absolute ease.