Actor Andrew Garfield Encounters God while Studying for Role as Jesuit Priest

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Jan 13, 2017

Actor Andrew Garfield Encounters God while Studying for Role as Jesuit Priest

Editor's note: This story was updated on January 13, 2017.

 

Actor Andrew Garfield had a genuine encounter with God while he was training for his role as a Jesuit priest in an upcoming film.

Garfield is known for his roles in the two “Amazing Spiderman” movies as well as his recent role as the star of Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge”--a film that also had Christian themes.

CBN News reports that, in preparation for their roles as Jesuit priests in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming historical drama “Silence,” Garfield, along with fellow actor Adam Driver, were sent to a Jesuit retreat.

At the retreat, they lived like Jesuits and learned about the faith these men have.

Before the retreat, Garfield said he was searching spiritually. "I'm not a Christian person. I consider myself pantheist, agnostic, occasionally atheist, and a little bit Jewish, but mostly confused," he said.

However, the retreat and the real encounter he had with God and the teachings of Christ started him on a real-life journey of faith.

"I was filled up with all this information and all this longing to spread the teachings of Christ, which I truly started to adore," he told Hollywood Reporter.

He also told the Catholic publication American Magazine, "What was really easy was falling in love with this person, was falling in love with Jesus Christ. That was the most surprising thing … That was the most remarkable thing—falling in love, and how easy it was to fall in love with Jesus.”

"I'm a believer with some doubts," he added. "But the doubts push me to find a purer sense of the other, a purer sense, if you want, of the word 'God.'"

Garfield went on to describe the Jesuit priest who taught him. "He gave me spiritual direction as if I were a Jesuit in training," he said. "It became a very personal journey for me."

The film was released in the U.S. on December 23, 2016.

 

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

Publication date: December 12, 2016



Actor Andrew Garfield Encounters God while Studying for Role as Jesuit Priest