Fitness guru Richard Simmons died over the weekend at the age of 76, just one day after his birthday. Earlier in the year, Simmons spoke publicly about a past diagnosis of skin cancer, but an interview that was published just a day before his birthday revealed the aerobics instructor to be in good health and exhibiting his ever-cheerful attitude. Simmons told People magazine that he felt “good,” adding that he was “grateful to be alive.”

“I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people.”

Sadly, Simmons fell on the evening of his birthday but did not call for medical attention. His housekeeper found him, unresponsive, the next morning.

His brother, Lenny, took to social media, asking the public to remember Simmons the way he always was: happy.

Although many people know this celebrity for his energy, his empathy and his big heart, news circulated this week about his Catholic faith and how, at one point, he even discerned entering the priesthood.

Simmons became a Catholic during his teens years attending New Orleans’ Cor Jesu High School, now known as Brother Martin Catholic High School.

Struggling with his body image during adolescence, he fought to lose weight and went on to become one of the most recognizable figures in the world, motivating adults and children alike to take their health seriously.

Although he used to travel the world with his inspiring messages, he spent recent years communicating with his fan base online.

An interview from 2012 in the Tampa Bay Times asked Simmons about his Catholic faith and studying for the priesthood. Simmons answered:

“I thought that was my calling. I was raised extremely Catholic in New Orleans. I thought that’s what I wanted to be, but it wasn’t.”

Writing consistently on Twitter, now known as X, Simmons shared earlier this year about going to confession for the first time:

He told the priest, he recounted online, that he sometimes “drove my parents crazy,” adding, “I also told him that I fought with my brother. A little bit. I had to say 20 Hail Marys and 20 Our Fathers … [a]nd I did ... .”

He also admitted that he had lived as a “faux” Catholic for years, but how, earlier this year, he and his brother had returned to Mass.

Simmons’ personal style and relatable struggles, which he shared so publicly, impacted millions around the country and across the globe, as can be seen in the outpouring of love and support by so many offering condolences since the news of his passing.

Many of the comments about him remember the way he loved with no judgment and accepted everyone with an eagerness to understand and sympathize with whatever problems they faced. As one blogger wrote: “In his eyes, every individual he met reflected the divine essence and likeness of God.”

Dominican Father Thomas Petri of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., also posted on social media about the fitness guru:

Father Petri shared:

“I thought his retirement from public life was well-deserved and I wonder if he couldn’t make sense of everything going on in our world today. Since his recent passing, I’ve learned he’d been a practicing Catholic all his life and once discerned whether he should be a priest or a monk,” adding, “I’ll be offering a Mass for his soul.”

Prayers for Richard’s eternal repose.

And, as most of us this week are trying to make sense of the world around us, given recent troubling events, may we pray to have the same kindhearted and loving attitude Richard Simmons always seemed to exhibit and, like he did, see the face of God in everyone we meet.