Jonathan Roumie says he will only kneel for Holy Communion, even as liberal bishops attack reverence

(LifeSiteNews) — Jonathan Roumie, lead actor of The Chosen, informed Fr. Mike Schmitz during a recent podcast that he was denied Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling.

Roumie explained that he felt “convicted” by the Holy Spirit to give the Eucharist more “reverence.” He said that he went to Mass recently and that he knelt to receive Our Lord. To his surprise, the priest told him to “get up.” Roumie complied but afterwards asked him why he ordered him to stand. The priest claimed he couldn’t allow him to receive while kneeling because it would allow everybody to do whatever they pleased.

A visibly bothered Fr. Schmitz said it is the right of lay people to receive Our Lord on the tongue while kneeling.

Roumie further shared that he went to his spiritual director about the matter. He told Roumie that the priest “shouldn’t do that.”

Roumie then said he has “doubled down” on his desire to kneel and that he is prepared to wait on his knees until the priest “concedes, because I’m not going anywhere.”

The issue of laity receiving Our Lord on the tongue while kneeling is a flashpoint that has all too often needlessly been in the news in recent years. Liberal clergy view the practice with disdain due to it being a throwback to more traditional liturgical practices. Even some “conservative” clergy dislike it because it may lead to more laity calling for altar rails and other pious traditions that were the norm before the Second Vatican Council.

Just last month, Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte ordered that altar rails and kneelers no longer be used for the reception of Holy Communion. He insisted that laity should receive Communion while standing, citing the fact that it is the “normative posture,” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He also claimed that it is “absurd” to “instruct the faithful that kneeling is more reverent than standing.”

Of course, this is not only contradicted by what we read in Scripture, which says in Philippines 2:10 that “in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,” but it is demonstrably shown by data that traditional liturgical norms lead to stronger faith.

“Church leaders may be able to promote Real Presence belief by encouraging embodied liturgical practices that convey reverence for the Eucharist,” a paper published by Dr. Natalie Lindemann last year in the Catholic Social Science Review discovered.

Lindemann specifically found that “reintroducing reception on the tongue, encouraging consecration bell use, and allowing the celebration of the [Traditional Latin Mass]” leads to “a much stronger belief in the Real Presence” than among those who said Catholics should receive Communion in the hand.

Martin is not the only prelate in the U.S. who is attacking traditional practices. Monsignor James A. Misko, formerly of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, and recently named the next bishop of Tucson, Arizona, by Pope Leo, has a track record of cracking down on them as well.

As reported by LifeSite in December 2025, when Misko was vicar general of Austin, he enforced the suppression of multiple Traditional Latin Masses and the banning of Communion kneelers under new Bishop Daniel Garcia, while also urging the faithful to get the abortion-tainted COVID jab.

At the time, Misko signed a memorandum asking pastors to no longer use kneelers, emphasizing that standing to receive the Eucharist is the “norm” in the U.S. Setting out a kneeler “could put undue pressure on the communicant” to receive kneeling, his directive alleged.

Thankfully, Catholics are “standing up” to these sorts of decrees. This past summer, traditional Catholics attended en masse to receive Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling during a concelebrated Mass with Bishop Martin and about a dozen other bishops. Martin did not administer Communion that day.

Faithful in Charlotte continue to kneel despite efforts of Bishop Michael Martin to discourage the traditional practice by removing kneelers. [Video from July 1, 2025 Mass during Atlanta Province annual meeting, with nine other bishops in attendance].#bishopmartin #charlotte pic.twitter.com/9NFdblyyWU

— Charlotte Latin Mass Community (@CLMCLatinMass) July 3, 2025

The story of Fr. Fredy Leonardo Herrera Fuentes, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Bogotá, is worth recalling on this subject.

On February 7, 2021, at the conclusion of the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass, Fr. Fuentes told parishioners from the pulpit that “from this moment in our parish, it’s only going to be possible to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling down.” He did so after having what he later called a mystical experience during Mass where he was bowing down for about 20 seconds, shaking, and crying.

Lastly, LifeSite co-founder John-Henry Westen explained in a video five reasons why Catholics should receive Our Lord in this manner. His arguments are airtight and serve as a good rebuttal to those clergy who intransigently oppose it. Watch below then share it with friends and priests: