{"id":14930,"date":"2023-12-11T11:09:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T16:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=14930"},"modified":"2023-12-11T11:52:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T16:52:24","slug":"italys-most-attractive-man-gives-up-modeling-career-to-become-a-priest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/12\/italys-most-attractive-man-gives-up-modeling-career-to-become-a-priest.html","title":{"rendered":"Italy’s ‘Most Attractive Man’ Gives Up Modeling Career to Become a Priest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@_edoardosantini_ \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An Italian model once crowned as the \u201cmost beautiful man\u201d has announced his plans to give up on dreams of fame and fortune to enter the priesthood. Edoardo Santini said in a video posted to social media, \u201cAt 21 years of age, I find myself on the path toward becoming a priest, God willing. I\u2019ve decided to give up modeling work, acting and dance, but I won\u2019t abandon my passions. I\u2019ll just live them differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santini said he would be \u201coffering\u201d his passions \u201cto God\u201d now that he has found his life\u2019s purpose. He entered a seminary and started his studies. According to Italian outlet II Globo, he grew up near Florence and won fashion group ABE\u2019s 2019 pageant, earning the title of \u201cmost beautiful man\u201d at only 17 years old. He\u2019s also won swimming competitions. On his Instagram account, which typically serves as a promotional platform for his modeling work, Santini recently started posting questions about faith, writing last year that he \u201cdiscovered the real Chruch, which I thought was dead,\u201d according to The Times UK.<\/em><\/p>\n

Santini admitted recently that he was \u201cscared to go deeper\u201d but that he went to live with two priests last year to get a sense of the lifestyle and called it \u201cthe most beautiful experience of my life.\u201d\u00a0The Times<\/em> reported that the\u00a0Catholic Church\u00a0has found it challenging to recruit new priests, with numbers dropping by almost two-thirds over the past few decades: The church trained just over 2,100 new priests in 2019, compared with over 6,300 in 1970.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Edoardo Santini (@_edoardosantini_)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n