Obi-Wan Kenobi is Catholic

In recent years it has been a difficult time to be Catholic. In addition to the priestly abuse scandals, there have been declining Mass numbers, as well as an increasingly secular society openly hostile to traditional Catholic morality.

However, amid these problems we still have hope. After all, Christ Himself promised us in Matthew 28:20 that He would be with His Church until the end of time!

We see other signs of hope as well. The priests graduating from seminary during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI have been of the highest caliber and the traditional religious orders are flourishing. Oh, and it turns out that Obi-Wan Kenobi is Catholic.

Wait…what?

Yup, that’s right, it turns out that Obi-Wan Kenobi is Catholic…

No, not that Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact, please erase all those horrible prequels from your memory, together with the word “midichlorians”, as well as every movie by George Lucas since 1989…

Ah….that’s better.

Wait, where was I?

Oh yes, it turns out that Obi-Wan Kenobi, the real Obi-Wan Kenobi is Catholic:

The man behind the light sabre…

What on earth am I jabbering about? Well, the other day I found out a little bit more about the life of Sir Alec Guinness, the man who played our famous Jedi Master. As well as having a pretty awesome last name, Sir Alec also had an interesting life which we read about in his autobiography “Blessings In Disguise”.

Growing up, Sir Alec had some contact with Anglicanism, although he soon developed a disdain for religion, describing it as “…so much rubbish, a wicked scheme of the Establishment to keep the working man in his place.” However, during The Blitz, an encounter with an Anglican vicar brought Alex back to his Anglican faith.

His attitude towards Catholicism also started to soften when he starred in “Father Brown”, a movie adaptation of the the mystery-solving priest who was the literary creation of one of my favourite Catholics, G.K. Chesterton. One particular encounter appears to have had a profound impact on Sir Alec’s journey during that time. One evening, returning from the set, Sir Alec walked home in his priest costume. As he went on his way, a little child started to walk alongside the “priest” and grabbed his hand as they went on their way. The little child’s trust had a profound impact upon Sir Alec, dispelling some of his anti-Catholic suspicions:

 “I reflected that a Church that could inspire such confidence in a child, making priests, even when unknown, so easily approachable, could not be as scheming or as creepy as so often made out. I began to shake off my long-taught, long-absorbed prejudices.” 

– Sir Alec Guiness

When Sir Alec’s eleven-year-old son contracted polio the actor began stopping by a Catholic church to pray. He promised God that, if his son survived, he would not prevent him from becoming Catholic. After receiving Jesuit schooling, his son declared his wish to become Catholic. Sir Alec remained true to his word and allowed the boy to convert. Obi-Wan then began to study Catholicism for himself and soon both he and his wife were received into the Church.

So, join the ranks of a Jedi, be Catholic 🙂