Official Description

A very special relationship has developed between Butters and the Parish Priest. When the town finds the church doors locked and no sign of the pair, they call in the Catholic Church.

Full Description

The next Sunday, the townspeople arrive at church, once again being positive and friendly, but when Randy tries to open the door, he finds it locked, leaving the townpeople to worry. Butters comes out the church and is subjected to ridicule. He tells everyone there is no church and slams the door. Back in the Marsh car, the parents are upset about not being able to ridicule the priest. Shelly questions why this is a big deal, and is yelled at by Randy.

Maxi and Butters are sitting round a campfire toasting marshmallows. The two are happy and become friends. A montage is shown of the two doing various activities together, while "Faith in Christ" plays. These activities vary from walking and rowing, to watching movies and playing. Some of these activities are seen by the townspeople, who look on confused.

At the Denver Archdiocese, the Denver Archbishop gets a call from Mr. Mackey, who informs him that the priest has gone missing. The archbishop believes he means the priest has run off with some boys, and calls the Catholic Cleanup Crew to sort him out.

At Kidzone Roller Rink, Clyde is having a party to celebrate his birthday. Butters comes in, bringing Maxi with him. Clyde is angry, as he doesn't want a priest at his party. Butters guides Maxi through how to skate, as the other party-goers watch on, confused.

In Skeeter's Bar and Cocktails, the townspeople are drinking, depressed about not having church. Randy and Stuart discuss how meaningless life is, before someone runs in to exclaim that there are people in the church. The townspeople run into the church, only to find the Catholic Cleanup Crew there. They inform the town that nothing weird has happened and Maxi has just gone to South America. Randy tells them that he was in his house the other day, but they deny it. The town walk out, sad that they cannot go back to church yet.

At the Marsh residence, the clean-up crew start bleaching the kitchen table, only to be spotted by Stan. Stan, like his father, tells them that Maxi was there the other day. One of the priests then wipes Stan down with a "Kumby".

Back at the roller rink, Clyde is blowing out his candles, much to the joy of the boys. Maxi then starts repeating bible verses again. Aggravated, Clyde and Cartman tell Kyle to sort it out. Kyle takes Butters into another room, where he explains no-one wants Maxi there. Maxi overhears and leaves, depressed. Butters, angry, also leaves. The clean up crew then turns up to clean the rink. Clyde, angry, yells at them, threatening to tell the police.

Butters wanders through a parking lot looking for Maxi. He finds him by a dumpster. Maxi berates him for not leaving him alone, telling him he hates himself because he couldn't stop the priests from molesting children. He then tells Butters to go away. Butters walks down the streets, lonely. The Catholic Cleanup Crew drive up to him and try to entice him into getting in their van, eventually succeeding by telling him about the bunny in the back. Butters finds Stan and Clyde in the van, and the three are locked in.

At the Marsh residence, Randy is boredly flicking through the TV channels. Maxi comes round looking for Butters. Randy tries to get him to come back, and tells him about the clean up crew, leading Maxi to worry. In the car, Randy calls up Stephen, explaining the boys have been kidnapped by priests. The two, along with Linda, crack some jokes, leading Maxi to angrily snatch the phone and question if Butters has told him anything. Stephen tells him about a message saying he had to do some camping, leading Maxi to realise where they are.

At the campsite, the 3 boys are tied up, with the cleanup crew trying to trap Maxi. They have a bigger machine, known as a cumboni, to deal with him. Maxi eventually turns up, expecting to be killed. They tell him he's actually being transferred, which Maxi seemingly accepts and leaves. The priests begin to celebrate, before Maxi turns up again on the Cumboni. Driving it, he runs over and kills all three of the clean up crew and rescues the 3 boys. He explains to them that he has realised his purpose, to protect all the boys.

Maxi reopens the church to the happy townspeople. He gives a sermon about penance, which is once again interrupted by the Catholic priest jokes, but, after what he has been through, he learns to accept them, and not be disturbed by them.

Memorable Quotes

• "Don't worry, Your Holiness. By the time we're done with that town there won't be a lick of cum anywhere." (Bishop)
• "Butters, you know, you can't just bring your priest with you everywhere. I mean, sometimes the guys just wanna do stuff and not have a priest around." (Kyle Broflovski)
• "Of course. Now I have purpose... And I have meaning. My job here... is to protect YOU. ALL of you." Father Maxi

Characters

Cameos

• A bunch of familiar kids make cameo appearances at Clyde's birthday party, and Powder can also be seen at the roller rink. Many familiar adults can also be seen at the Church.

Character Debuts

The Denver Archbishop sends in a Clean-Up Crew, and we do meet some new townsfolk as well.

Costume Debuts

• During the Church scenes, the Marshes (and a few other characters) wear special outfits.

Locations

Location Debuts

Songs

• "A Place to Fall Apart" by Merle Haggard

Continuity Nods

• Priest Maxi references having been all the way to the the Vatican to deal with child molestation and discovering the problem was worse than he ever feared... this was covered all the way back in season 6's "Red Hot Catholic Love".
• Butters mentions having previously been unpopular and bullied, a status he held most prominently in season 3's "Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub" until around season 7's "Casa Bonita"; since then, he's been the boys' unofficial fifth wheel.
• Stan's arm is in a cast from when he was shot at the end of the previous episode, "Dead Kids", in yet another school shooting.
• If you look closely at the congregation, it appears to be partially lifted from season 20's "The End of Serialization As We Know It", particularly with the presence of Harrison Yates and his rarely seen wife Maggie.

Behind the Scenes

Pop Culture References

The episode references the Catholic Church sexual abuse cases, which were previously addressed in Red Hot Catholic Love.

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

• This episode contained a few absences that caught attention by the eagle-eyed fans:
  • Despite their parents' presence Tolkien Black, Jimmy Valmer and Wendy Testaburger are not seen at the Church.
  • Roger Donovan does not appear at his son's birthday party.
• Peter Nelson is seen sitting next to Ms. Nelson at the Church, which has lead some to speculate they may be married as they have the same last name and Nelson's wife only appeared heavily obscured in "The Magic Bush".
• Cartman wants to play Calamity Jane at board game night; in South Park: Phone Destroyer, his girlfriend Heidi Turner plays as "Calamity Heidi".

Errors and Goofs

• Clyde also held a birthday party last season the same weekend "Moss Piglets" took place... and mentioned a birthday party Casa Bonita back in season 14's "You Have 0 Friends". That's three birthday parties in one school year!
• The Clean-Up Crew Bishop refers to "an eight-year-old's birthday party", but in order to be attending the fourth grade, the main characters and their classmates must be at least nine.

Season 22

e1 Dead Kids

e2 A Boy and a Priest

e3 The Problem With a Poo

e4 Tegridy Farms

e5 The Scoots

e6 Time To Get Cereal

e7 Nobody Got Cereal

e8 Buddha Box

e9 Unfulfilled

e10 Bike Parade