Conrad Black, 78, is a Canadian-born British businessman who, in the 1990s, built Hollinger International which was once the world’s third-largest English-language newspaper empire. Although Canadian, Black’s brilliant and prolific US journalism and books make him an honorary literary citizen. Raised in an atheistic family, it took time for Black to find his faith. He explained that he “approached Rome at a snail’s pace” until he was eventually received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1986 by Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter. In 2001, Black was invested as a knight commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great, a papal order of chivalry awarded by Pope John Paul II.
Mel Gibson
Actor, producer and director
Mel Gibson, 66, is an actor, director and producer. Best known for his roles in Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, his career took a different direction when he directed, produced and co-funded The Passion of the Christ, a 2004 biblical drama that has made $612 million worldwide. Gibson was raised a devout sedevacantist traditionalist Catholic, although Fr William Fulco said in 2009 that Gibson denies neither the pope nor Vatican II. He is a friend of the actor Mark Wahlberg with whom he starred in Father Stu, about a boxer turned priest. He has given millions of dollars to many causes including the Mirador Basin project, Healing the Children and alcohol and drug education. “Philanthropy gives you perspective. It’s one of my faults, you tend to focus on yourself a lot. You take a little time out to think about other people – it’s good. It’s uplifting.”
Mickey Rourke
Actor
Although he claimed he was blacklisted by Hollywood for around 14 years for being difficult to work with, Mickey Rourke has always had a strong connection to his Irish-rooted faith. He has starred in faith-based films including A Prayer for the Dying (1987), in which he plays an IRA hitman who develops a bond with a Catholic priest. The former boxer recently played a paralysed man in Man of God, about a Greek Orthodox saint who establishes a covenant for pilgrims on a desolate island. He says he owes his career comeback to Father Peter Colapietro, a priest at Holy Cross Church in New York, who “saved him” after he was in a dark place. “I would talk to Father Peter on weekends,” Rourke told Fox News. “And I would tell him, ‘I’m not gonna pray anymore.’ One day, he looked at me and said, ‘Mickey, nobody gets a pass.’ One thing I’ve learned is that everything’s in God’s hands.”
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