Devout Catholic Celebrities

Mark Wahlberg

A former drug addict and gang member, Mark Wahlberg was sent to jail at age 16 for attempted murder. It was there he resolved to change his ways and contacted his parish priest for help. Although he has stumbled in his faith journey as a young adult, he currently starts every morning with prayer, goes to daily mass and is a devoted husband and father. In fact, his wife Rhea was so impressed by his devotion that she converted to Catholicism. Wahlberg gives back to his community as well. He founded the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation to help inner city kids avoid the mistakes he made as a young man.

“Being a Catholic is the most important aspect of my life,” he told the Catholic Herald.

Harry Connick Jr.

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The newest American Idol judge and talented musician credits his Catholic father and Jewish mother for teaching him to live a God-centered life through their example. Encouraged to explore and choose his own faith, he became a Catholic at age 14 and attended a Jesuit high school. In an interview with Fr. Dave Dwyer on “Busted Halo,” Connick says that a friend asked if he is tempted to stray from his beliefs. “For me, having my faith and family allows me to go out into the stratosphere with my art... because I know where my home is.” He is a philanthropist, working with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for underprivileged musicians in his native New Orleans. Harry has been married to model Jill Goodacre for nearly 20 years. They have three daughters.

Nicholas Sparks

The prolific best-selling author weaves many Christian themes and characters into his writing. Sparks is proud of his faith, declaring in an interview with the Catholic Education Resource Center, “I was raised Catholic, baptized, confirmed, Sunday School, went to Notre Dame, go to confession, go to church weekly. My oldest son is an altar boy. All my children go to the Catholic school. My wife Catherine was raised Catholic. We were married in the Catholic Church.” Nicholas Sparks also generously gives back to his community. He founded a non-denominational private school focused on travel and lifelong learning, donated a brand new running track to the local public high school and volunteered to serve as the track coach. When I interviewed Sparks several years ago, he said he has two favorite saints: St. Anthony, because he frequently loses things, and St. Jude, patron of hopeless causes.

Martin Sheen

Raised by devout Catholic parents who emphasized family rosary nights, Martin Sheen left the church as a young adult and lapsed in his faith. He experienced a reversion in middle age but had to adjust to the post-Vatican II changes in the Church. Sheen is vocally pro-life, especially since his wife was conceived as the result of a rape. He is also very devoted to praying the rosary. When I interviewed him while he was promoting his movie, “The Way,” he stated, “I’m very fond of the rosary. It has great meaning in my life. I’ve become known as “The Rosary Dispenser” because I leave rosaries wherever I go. All the vehicles that everyone in my family drives have a blessed rosary on the rearview mirror. Our [tour] bus has one as well. I wouldn’t leave home without it.”

Fergie and Josh Duhamel

A former drug addict who admitted to sexual “experimentation” in college, Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known as Blackeyed Peas lead singer Fergie, credits God and her faith for getting back on track. Duhamel has had his missteps as well, once posing nude and rumored to have cheated on his wife with a stripper (He has denied the affair but admitted to going to the strip club.). The couple, who were married in a Catholic ceremony, seem to have settled into married life with their son Axl (who was recently baptized in their parish).

They spend Saturday evenings in church, attending the vigil mass.

Fergie adds (in an interview with Us Magazine), ''Then we go out and have a really nice wine, like all good Catholics.''