Original air date: 5/15/2005
Production code: GABF-09
When Bart is unjustly expelled for an incident at a medieval-themed fair at school that wasn't his fault, he's sent to a Catholic private school led by an Irish priest (voiced by guest star Liam Neeson) who shows Bart and Homer the fun side of the Catholic religion. Naturally, Ned, Marge, and Reverend Lovejoy (who are Protestant) don't agree.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – History: Lisa claims that Latin is the language of Plutarch. Plutarch actually wrote in Greek.
- Bad Boss: Skinner gives Willie the single worst job in the fair, encouraging kids to throw things at him.
- Bad Future: 1000 years in future, the world becomes a Warhammer-esque dystopia where Bart somehow is worshipped as a prophet and people wearing Bart themed gear are fighting wars over his words of peace and tolerance using strange war machines.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: The two crusading armies in the Distant Finale use Bart's Eat my shorts and Cowabunga as their battlecry.
- Cassandra Truth: Practically nobody believes in Bart's pleas of innocence regarding the prank he was expelled for, what with his history of playing pranks on people.
- Celestial Bureaucracy: A follow inhabitant of Protestant Heaven explains this to Marge.
- Character Catchphrase: Bart introduces himself to his new school with a very bored, "Yeah, yeah, I'm Bart Simpson. Ay, caramba. Do the Bartman. Etc., etc."
- Continuity Nod: After Lisa explains to Homer who the ancient historian Plutarch was, Homer complains that thanks to her teaching him that, he's now forgotten who won Bud Bowl VIII, referencing his comment in "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" about how "every time (he) learns something new, it pushes some old stuff out of (his) brain."
- Cool Teacher: You've got to be pretty cool to nearly turn both Bart and Homer Simpson Catholic. Unlike the classically Stern Nun who represents Bart's first glimpse of Catholic education, Father Sean is a good-natured guy who understands where Bart is coming from due to having a similar past himself.
- Crisis of Faith: The premise of the episode. Bart and Homer convert to Catholicism after the former is sent to a Catholic school, while Marge, Ned and Lovejoy disapprove.
- Distant Finale: After Bart convinces the Catholics and Protestants to get along, the episode ends on a fade to 1000 years later, where two armies are fighting over the words of "God's last prophet, Bart Simpson." Apparently Milhouse became Bart's Judas.
- Dramatic Gun Cock: Parodied in the climactic Mexican Standoff when all four get a closeup of pumping their guns
. - Dramatic Irony: Audience members can't help but feel sorry for Bart when he's getting flak from everyone for something they [the audience] know Willie was responsible for.
- Driver Faces Passenger: Reverend Lovejoy spends a disturbingly long time looking backwards while driving. Jesus must have taken the wheel.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Lisa agrees with Homer when he declares that he and Bart should be allowed to pick their own religion and helps him and Father Sean by telling them where Marge took Bart.
- Easily Condemned: Bart is expelled for Willie's prank, even when he says he didn't do it. In fact his family refuses to believe him. But given his history of trouble making it's easy to come to conclusion he may have done it.
- Eskimos Aren't Real: When Lisa mentions how she decided to convert to Buddhism, Father Sean thinks she's talking about an imaginary friend.
- Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Marge's Imagine Spot has Heaven depicted up in the clouds.
- Former Teen Rebel: Father Sean can relate to Bart because he used to be a troublemaker himself, and notes the Truth in Television that St. Augustine "got his start stealing pears."
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: Father Sean states if he'd fail to keep Bart within his flock, he'd be the worst priest ever, "Except for, you know...", prompting awkward looks and coughing from Homer and Lisa.
- Hell of a Heaven: Protestant Heaven is this for Marge since Homer and Bart are in Catholic Heaven.
- Jerkass Ball: In most other episodes, Marge is usually the reasonable and friendly Foil when Homer is being foolish or reckless or Innocently Insensitive. In this episode, however, Marge suddenly has a fear and hatred of Catholics for no apparent reason other than because the plot says so. She doesn't even get a Freudian Excuse explaining why. It even gets lampshaded by Bart pointing out she's essentially going against something she was BEGGING Bart to do before.Bart: You're always nagging me to go to church, and now that I am, it's the wrong one.
- Flanders and Lovejoy are even more intolerant than usual and help kidnap Bart. And then when they agree to get along with Catholics, Flanders agrees that they need to unite against monogamous gays and stem cells.
- Jerkass Realization: Bart once again, he calms everyone down when he explains that Catholics and Protestants are both Christians, which got both sides to agree.
- Karma Houdini: Groundskeeper Willie doesn't get punished for the stunt he pulled and lets Bart take the blame.
- Mundane Afterlife: Protestant Heaven has cricket and badminton, while Catholic Heaven has a Mexican fiesta, Italian dinner, and Irish dancing.
- Noodle Incident: In the distant future, Bart is revered as a prophet. One sect claims Bart was betrayed by Milhouse.
- Not Helping Your Case: Despite Bart's innocence, happily rolling with the whole thing right in front of Skinner didn't exactly sell the fact he didn't do it, to say the least.
- Not Me This Time: Bart tries to explain he’s innocent and didn’t do anything wrong despite having a reason to sabotage the fair, which is true, but nobody believes him.Bart: I didn't do it! Unlike all the other stuff I told you I didn't do, which I did!
- Overly Specific Afterlife: Marge has a daydream where Heaven is divided between the Protestants and the Catholics after Bart and Homer convert to the latter.
- The Scapegoat: Bart is forced to take the blame for the accident, despite the fact it was all Willie's doing.
- Shout-Out: Lovejoy and Flanders drive around in the Ministry Machine.
- Standing in the Hall: Bart is forced into this while at a private Catholic school.
- Stern Nun: Enrolled at a Catholic school, Bart naturally tangles with one of these first thing.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never shown how Bart gets back into Springfield Elementary or if he is ever proven innocent of Willie's prank.
- White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: During Marge's Imagine Spot, Protestant heaven is populated by herself and snobby yuppies playing croquet.
