I have enjoyed Shia LeBeouf as an actor, from his early days as a child actor in “Even Stevens’ to his role in the “Transformers”.

But there are now reports that LeBeouf has become a Catholic during his preparation for the movie on the life of a controversial Catholic Priest, Saint Pius of Pietrelcinathat, also known as Padre Pio, CBN reports.

In the movie to be released in September, LeBeouf, 36, plays Padre Pio, who died in 1968 and was proclaimed a saint in 2002 after gaining notoriety when his body displayed the signs of the ‘stigmata’ (signs of the crucifixion) on his body.

In preparation for his role, LeBeouf visited a monastery to acclimatize himself to the life of a Franciscan friar and in an interview with Los Angeles Bishop Robert Barron on his show “Word on Fire”, LeBeouf spoke of his conversion to Catholicism.

He described his stay at the monastery turning into “something beyond all that” and found himself being drawn to the Bible.

“It was seeing other people who have sinned beyond anything I could ever conceptualize also being found in Christ that made me feel like, ‘Oh, that gives me hope,’” LeBeouf told Bishop Barron. “I started hearing experiences of other depraved people who had found their way in this, and it made me feel like I had permission.”

Since his start as a child actor, LeBeouf’s life has been tumultuous. During the filming of the life of Padre Pio in Italy, Tahliah Barnett, LeBeouf’s ex-girlfriend, filed suit citing among other things assault and sexual battery. In the past, he was arrested for criminal trespass during a New York Broadway show.

In his interview with Bishop Barron, LeBeouf admitted he had hurt a lot of people and talked of the moment he had a gun on his desk and contemplated suicide because of his shame.

But this is not the first time, that LeBeouf has claimed to be a Christian as a result of a movie role.

In 2014, he played “Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan” in the movie “Fury” which portrayed an American tank crew in World War II. During the movie, “Boyd Bible Swam” preached the gospel to fellow soldiers and Germans alike.

In an interview, with Interview Magazine, LeBeouf later said:

“I found God doing Fury. I became a Christian man, and not in a f***ing bull***t way — in a very real way. I could have just said the prayers that were on the page,” Lebeouf stated. “But it was a real thing that really saved me. And you can’t identify unless you’re really going through it. It’s a full-blown exchange of heart, a surrender of control. And while there’s beauty to that, acting is all about control. So that was a wild thing to navigate.”

I have no doubt, that there is a desire in LeBeouf’s heart to straighten out his life, and said in the interview with Bishop Barron that he was drawn to God because the ‘pain made me willing.”

And it seems the Holy Spirit is drawing the actor to Christ, and LeBeouf even admitted it has given him hope, but we need to give it some time. Hopefully, his heart has been prepared for the seed.

READ: ‘That Gives Me Hope’: Shia LeBeouf Says He Found God While Preparing for Role in New Movie AND Shia LaBeouf converts to Catholicism while working faith-based film: ‘Pain made me willing’ AND Shia LaBeouf: Interview Magazine AND ‘That Gives Me Hope’: Shia LeBeouf Says He Found God While Preparing for Role in New Movie