“Padre Pio,” the new film by Bronx-born director Abel Ferrara, was unveiled at the 2022 Venice Film Festival on Friday, but perhaps the bigger story is the star of the movie, Shia LaBeouf, and his winding path to redemption.
LaBeouf, an actor known for going to extreme lengths to master his roles, said he lived in a monastery and converted to Catholicism while playing the influential Italian saint.
The star, who has also been arrested several times over the past decade for assault and substance abuse, revealed he’s been sober for nearly two years and he credits his conversion, which he says is authentic.
Is it a genuine attempt at absolution, or will the actor — who was fired from Olivia Wilde’s film “Don’t Worry Darling” in 2020 — return to his old ways?
Ferrara, a gritty independent director best known for 1992’s “Bad Lieutenant,” is betting on a happy ending for the troubled star.
“For me, it’s instinct with the actor. I felt it. He immediately bought in. For him, it was something larger than life. He believes. So it was a miracle that we came to him,” Ferrara told The Daily Beast on Friday.
Watch the trailer, here:
The Story of Padre Pio
The story of San Pio is full of charm and spirituality capable of enchanting the faithful from all over the world. He is considered the spiritual heir of St. Francis of Assisi, and was the first priest to bear the signs of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on his body. His intercessions between the faithful and God were for many a cause of healing from physical ailments and a reason for rebirth in the spirit.
Francesco Forgione, better known as San Pio, was born in Pietrelcina on May 25th, 1887, a small town in the Benevento area, in the region of Campania. He was born into a poor and rather large family. From an early age, Francis felt the desire to dedicate his life totally to God and this was evident among his family and friends. His own mom would urge him to go out and play, but he preferred spending his time in the local church.
Finally at the age of sixteen, on January 6, 1903, he dedicated his life to the Lord. He began his career as a cleric in the Capuchin Order and, on August, 10 1910, he was ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Benevento. Thus began his priestly life. On September 4th, 1916, he moved to the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo where, with the exception of a few brief interruptions, he remained until his death on September 23, 1968.
It was on September 20th, 1918, during his morning prayer session that he received the gift of the stigmata. These were clearly visible and remained open, fresh and bleeding, for about half a century. This extraordinary phenomenon generated a particular attention towards Padre Pio. Doctors, scholars, journalists but above all ordinary people, felt they wanted to reach the holy friar in San Giovanni Rotondo.
For years the faithful from all over the world went to this stigmatized priest, to obtain his powerful intercession with God, receive grace and find healing of body and mind. Padre Pio lived over fifty years of his life in prayer, humility, suffering and sacrifice to put his love into practice.
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