Wit shown by animated priest (6)
I believe the answer is:
esprit
'wit' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'animated priest' is the wordplay.
'animated' is an anagram indicator.
'priest' with letters rearranged gives 'ESPRIT'.
'shown by' is the link.
(Other definitions for esprit that I've seen before include "Vivacity - wit" , "wit from France" , "Group morale is . . . . . . de corps" , "Stripe (anag)" , "Lively and vivacious quality" .)