ex-priest and TikTok star, the new life of Matthieu Jasseron

After leaving social networks a year ago, Matthieu Jasseron has no longer been a priest in Joigny (Yonne) for a few weeks. Removed from the world, we went to meet him in his new life as a hermit.

“I’m becoming Matthieu Jasseron again.” On October 22, Father Matthieu announced in a video that he was leaving the Church. The former TikTok star priest explained that he was retiring after “13 months of pressure and intimidation” of his hierarchy.

Matthieu Jasseron now lives far from big cities, in a small cabin by the water. We met him at his home, in his new life.

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Matthieu Jasseron: During a year, I experienced quite a succession of events which shook me up a little and which led me to ask a set of questions about the faith of the Church in general and the figure of the priest. The priest is a bit like the official, he is there to manage a parish, but also to relay the dogmatic voice of the institution.

And for a year, a question bothered me: “Was I sufficiently in tune with the Church to remain a priest?“My mission ended this summer. It is a decision that I have carefully considered and now I accept it publicly. That's why I made a video to explain it.

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M.J : I don't wonder if I was wrong, but I definitely miss it. All these people who come to confide in us, revealing to us the greatest beauty and the greatest complexity of human nature, it's wonderful. The fact of accompanying people in the greatest moments of their lives, baptism, marriage, even the funeral, here again we are privileged.

The fact of being able to preach on Sunday morning in front of 300, sometimes even 800 people and to be there and try to bring a word of hope. That's wonderful too. So yes, I miss all that a lot, and at the same time, I think that today, I am more in tune with who I am personally.

M.J : Objectively, I can't imagine officially becoming a priest again because I question many things about the figure of the priest. I think we put it too much on a pedestal and that little by little, we commit small faults which risk leading us to greater abuses. The fact that the priest is perceived a little too sacred in the Church, I believe that this is not good for priests in general and I have realized this for myself too.

There are times I realized that I could have been obnoxious to certain people, judgmental of others and that's not what I want. Today, one chapter of my life closes and another opens.

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I was a committed celibate priest with promises to the Church. Now the possibility of family life opens up and beyond that, the need to find a job. I feel a wide range of possibilities and at the same time, a slight anxiety.

M.J : I turned the page on social networks a year ago and since then I don't really see myself coming back. I told people I was quitting. I didn't want some people to perceive me as a guru. It didn't always feel very fitted to me. It flattered a pride that was not very adequate. I found it good and appropriate to withdraw from social networks.

M.J : For me, God, it is obvious and it will always remain so. During the summer, I sometimes didn't go to mass, I had to take this time away. For me, it is obvious that I continue to be part of the Catholic Church. That's where I have most of my friendships and that's where I want to continue to find my place.

God may be an abstract figure up there, but I believe that above all, it is this power of transcendence that we each have in our hearts. Yes, life is hard, full of difficult moments, but when we manage to see that we carry within us the spark of infinity which created the universe, which has transcended our lives, it changes everything. I believe there is God.