Martin Scorsese, Priest of the Silver Screen
From a young age, Martin Scorsese aspired to become a priest, valuing that role even more than being president of the United States. In 1953, 11-year-old Scorsese lived in a cramped apartment in Little Italy, New York City, with his family nearby: his parents, older brother, uncle in the same building, and grandparents just down the street.
Outside his family's warmth, the world appeared dangerous. The Lower East Side was filled with tough men, loan sharks, and swindlers who loitered on street corners, exchanged jokes and stories, fought, and sometimes resorted to gunfire. Due to severe asthma, Scorsese rarely left his home. He described this time as:
“I lived a life apart. I felt separate from everyone else.”
From his bedroom window, he observed the world below and mentally recorded everything. His parents, devout Catholics from their homeland, wanted him to receive a religious education. They sent him to St Patrick’s Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street, instructing him to “Go around the corner, go to school.” There, Scorsese discovered his true calling.
Author's Summary
Martin Scorsese’s early struggle with illness and faith shaped a lifelong devotion that expressed itself powerfully through his films, more than through traditional priesthood.