Priestly Pop

There are drawbacks to turning priests into pop stars. Because they need to stay close to their congregations, the Priests won't be doing a typical promotional concert tour. But Father O'Hagan says his parishioners have pledged to support his new mission. "They have assured me if they go a couple days without Mass, they're not going to lose the faith," he says.

But there are also upsides for music executives accustomed to dealing with rock-star antics. "Why do most guys get into this? To get a chick and behave as badly as they possibly can," Mr. Raphael says. "These guys have already passed up on that side of life."