Shia LaBeouf, an actor known for his roles in such movies as “Transformers” and “Fury,” made headlines this week for the personal details he shared about how his on-screen portrayal of Padre Pio led him to a newfound love of the Catholic faith.
In an 80-minute-long inter-view with Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and Word on Fire ministries, LaBeouf spoke at length about his appreciation of the works of St. Augustine and Thomas Merton, his devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass, the peace he feels when he prays the rosary, and his experience receiving the Holy Eucharist for the very first time. “I start feeling a physical effect from it,” he said of going to Communion. “I start feeling a reprieve and it starts feeling, like, regenerative, and [I] start enjoying it to such a degree I don’t want to miss it, ever.”
Though revelatory — and perhaps surprising, coming from a major Hollywood star — the interview didn’t conclusively answer a question many of his Catholic fans are asking: Has Shia LaBeouf formally “converted to Catholicism,”