4 Catholic Actors Share About Their Catholic Faith

Thoughts from Jim Caviezel, Harry Connick, Jr., Eduardo Verástegui and Patricia Heaton

Actor James Caviezel participates in a movie discussion panel on July 24, 2009
Actor James Caviezel participates in a movie discussion panel on July 24, 2009 (photo: Ewen Roberts, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The following are four prominent actors whom I’ve interviewing, sharing their reflections on the importance of their Catholic faith.

 

Actor Jim Caviezel on his relationship with Christ

“We don’t love Jesus enough. If you go to church, you know He loves you, because you hear it all the time. But do we love Him? I know I don’t tell Him enough. As part of my personal relationship with Jesus, when I get up in the morning, I tell Him, ‘I need you to know I love you.’”

 

Singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr. on being baptized Catholic at age 14

“My father’s side of the family is Catholic, so I had a lot of positive exposure to the Church through them … I was surrounded by a huge Catholic family, where everyone went to church and Catholicism was all around me. I felt comfortable with the Catholic faith, so I decided to be baptized. [My mother had died the year before] so it was a hard time. Fortunately, I was getting more into my faith, and I found a lot of peace.”

 

Mexican actor Eduardo Verástegui crediting his mother’s prayers for his return to the Catholic faith, and the intervention of his English instructor, who challenged him to return his faith

“There is nothing so powerful as the prayers of a mother. I believe this young lady, my English teacher, was the answer to her prayers. She changed my life … Before my conversion, I was poisoning the world with the projects I chose to become involved in. Now I want to use my talents to make the world better.”

 

Actress Patricia Heaton as a struggling actress in New York City, on how what remained of the Catholic faith of her childhood, combined with counseling, kept her from suicide. 

“I’d sit in my apartment on the Upper West Side and call on the saints, including Patrick and Joseph, for help, and then I’d go see my therapist … [when I was received back into the Church] it was a great joy … a beautiful thing.”