Shia LaBeouf Enters Catholic Church, Considers Vocation to the Diaconate
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf was received into the Catholic Church with the sacrament of confirmation by Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron on Sunday evening.
The Capuchin Franciscans-Western American Province announced LaBeouf’s confirmation on their Facebook account Tuesday.
LaBeouf’s confirmation sponsor, Capuchin friar Brother Alexander Rodriguez, told CNA Wednesday that the actor wants to become a deacon “sometime in the future.”
Brother Rodriguez said that LaBeouf began entertaining the idea of the diaconate during his recent film Padre Pio. In that film, LaBeouf played the titular St. Pio of Pietrelcina and Brother Rodriguez played the role of a friar.
“He just spontaneously said, ‘I want to become a deacon,’ and he still feels that way,” Brother Rodriguez said.
The sacramental ceremony took place at Old Mission Santa Inés Parish in Solvang, California, the same Capuchin parish that LaBeouf first went to train for his role as a Franciscan friar in the Padre Pio film.
In Bishop Barron’s previous assignment as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he oversaw the region containing Old Mission Santa Inés. Father Rodriguez said the two met during Bishop Barron’s tenure as auxiliary bishop.
LaBeouf, 37, made headlines in August 2023 after he revealed in an 80-minute-long interview with Bishop Barron that his on-screen portrayal of Padre Pio led him to a love of the Catholic faith.
