Elvis has left the building to go to church.
A New Jersey deacon who is also the singer in an Elvis Presley tribute band is known for making his parishioners feel “riotous.”
Worshipers at Corpus Christi Church in Hasbrouck Heights affectionately refer to Anthony Liguori Jr. as “Deacon Elvis.” But new parishioners are often struck by his resemblance to The King.
“During Christmas services, I could see these people come in, and then they would tap on the shoulder and point… It’s so funny to watch,” Liguori, 64, told The Post.
“Even as I stand there proclaiming the Gospel, I watch people look at me, some of them with a smile on their face. And then the family that brought them says, ‘No, this is what he does.'”
The Saddle Brook, New Jersey, native doesn’t sing in the pulpit, but he sports sideburns, high hair and a sterling silver cross that was handmade for Elvis by the superstar’s ranch hand in 1972.
A Liguori fan, Don Dunn, purchased the cross in 1978 at a Memphis convention for about $1,500. When Liguori was ordained a deacon by the Catholic Church in 2011, Dunn gave it to him.
“He said, ‘I don’t have children and I have to give it to someone who really deserves it.’ I was stunned. And he gave me. . . A photo of Priscilla wearing this.”
It’s not unusual to equate Elvis with religion, Liguori explained.
“People shouted at concerts: ‘Elvis, you’re the King!’ And he said, ‘No, I’m not, Jesus is King,'” she said.
“A lot of the churches where he lived in a very poor area of Mississippi were black evangelical churches, so he got a lot of that rhythm and soul from them.”
He also noted that the late singer, who died at age 42 in 1977 and would have turned 90 on Wednesday, was extremely generous.
“When he made it and the money started coming in, he saw it as a way to help people. “He literally gave homes not only to people he knew, but also to strangers, and he didn’t want publicity.”
When he was 6 years old, Liguori’s great-grandmother introduced him to Elvis movies.
“I thought it was cool, the girls, the guitars, the motorcycles, the hair,” recalled Liguori, who began playing Elvis music in high school and performing professionally in college.
Although he attended mass every Sunday, it was a near-death experience at age 20, when his omentum, a flap of tissue covering the abdominal organs, twisted from years of contact sports, was what brought Liguori closer to God. .
“My whole body was being poisoned… I remember being in the operating room and I kind of stood up… I saw the whole tunnel and the light, as cliché as it sounds… I had my vision of paradise… Jesus hugged me and I felt his warmth. and be able to heal me.”
After sharing his story with others, Liguori, who married his high school sweetheart and has two children, felt the call to deacon.
Deacons, who undergo five years of seminary training, perform many of the functions that priests perform.
“We can preach the Gospel, baptize, celebrate wedding ceremonies, preside over funerals. The only thing we don’t do is confess or do the consecration,” he explained.
His nickname came about shortly after his ordination, when he was asked to sing at a retreat, announced with a sign proclaiming: “Music will be provided by Deacon Elvis.”
“At first I was surprised, but the archbishop approved the sign and called me that in person.”
The singer-songwriter, who is in the Alabama Country Music Hall of Fame, performs across the country with his band, which includes his son Christian, everywhere from cruise ships to casinos and, of course, his church.
“We did a fundraiser here a year ago and we packed the house. “We couldn’t sell another ticket.”
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: celebrity.land’
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