MY brother told me a hilarious story about a sweary priest who has become legend at Manchester soccer matches. The old guy apparently sings, chants and has been known to utter the odd expletive and God clearly isn’t his only witness.

My brother lives in California, so he’s not used to such open displays of wanton profanity, let alone from a priest.

We both went to Catholic schools at a time when even looking at a member of the opposite sex out of wedlock was considered a sin, so a soccer-crazy Father with a potty mouth was something of a revelation.

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But 30-year-old cool dude vicar Rob Popejoy is one step beyond.

The college chaplain wears a de rigeur bushy beard, gets around on a motorbike (a Heaven’s Angel?) and skateboard, sings along to hip-hop and bares his heavily tattooed chest for modelling assignments.

If he didn’t bear an uncanny resemblance to Robbie Williams and if he wasn’t based down south, I may have relinquished my lapsed status and started to attend church again. And that’s something my audience with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican never achieved.

The Rev Popejoy says his unconventional appearance helps him relate to his parishioners on a one-to-one level.

“I try to do things differently. As I am representing religion and faith, I think we need to challenge the old traditional ways to keep religion fresh and approachable to all. You can still be religious, be who you want to be, and be up for a good laugh.”

I love that attitude, I really do. I was educated in a convent school by nuns in penguin outfits who told us that plucking our eyebrows was a sign of criminal tendencies. I still remember, with a certain amount of guilt (of course!), how we all laughed raucously when the wind blew off an old nun’s wimpole and she was left flailing around trying to cover her shaven head.

So I appreciate how times have changed. But I tend to think that the Rev Popejoy is not your average clergy, although a few bright stars seem to be emerging. One of those is our very own Blackburn Cathedral Cannon Shannon Ledbetter, a former model who appeared in the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. She recently braved a ride on the UK’s biggest rollercoaster in Blackpool to raise funds for the Children’s Society. She’s also a big T Rex fan.

Canon Shannon, the Rev Popejoy and even the sweary priest are the type of clergy who don’t patronise from the pulpit, but draw in the congregations with their down-to-earth approach and enthusiasm. They have the common touch, and that’s a good thing.

Many churches are fighting for survival and although religion may not be for everyone, with real, fun people spreading the word, more of us are likely to give it a whirl.