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.
A 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.