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Shia Labeouf: “Padre Pio saved my Life”

by Clyde Ericson H. Nolasco


During an interview on Word on Fire with Bishop Robert Barron, Shia Labeouf exclaimed: “Padre Pio saved my life.” Thus, seemingly announcing his conversion to the Catholic faith.


Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain / DoD News Features, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Known for his roles as Louis Stevens for Disney Channels’ Even Stevens and as Sam Witwicky in Michael Bays’ sci-fi action film series Transformers, Labeouf took a 180 degree turn to know and appreciate the Catholic faith thanks to his portrayal of Padre Pio.


A Jewish-Christian Background

Shia was born in a family of entertainers. His father Jeffry was a comedian as a rodeo clown and even a performer at a circus where he also trained chickens while Shayna his mother was a ballet dancer who eventually became a couturier and a jeweler. Shia was an only child. Though Shia claims to be agnostic before knowing Padre Pio, his dad was a Christian. On the other hand, his mother was Jewish. He was even named after his mother’s father, a Jewish comedian. “Shia” in Hebrew means “gift from God.” He was baptized and when he was 13 years old, underwent the Bar Mitzvah ceremony, a rite of passage for Jewish people.