Martin Scorsese, priest of the silver screen

Martin Scorsese, Priest of the Silver Screen

From a young age, Martin Scorsese aspired to become a priest. To him, that calling was more meaningful than even becoming the president of the United States. His story begins in 1953, in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City.

At 11 years old, Scorsese lived in a small apartment with his parents and older brother. His uncle lived in the same building, and his grandparents were a short distance away. Despite this close family support, the outside world felt intimidating. The streets of the Lower East Side were dangerous, filled with tough characters, loan sharks, and swindlers who gathered on corners exchanging stories, jokes, and sometimes violence.

Fortunately, Scorsese rarely had to leave home due to severe asthma, which kept him isolated. Reflecting on that time, he said,

“I lived a life apart. I felt separate from everyone else.”

From his bedroom window, he observed the bustling street below, storing the scenes in his memory. His parents, devout Catholics from the old country, sent him to St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral school on Mulberry Street to receive a religious education. They encouraged him, saying,

“Go around the corner, go to school.”

There, Scorsese discovered his true passion and purpose in life.

Авторское резюме: Martin Scorsese’s early dreams of priesthood shaped his lifelong devotion, later expressed powerfully through his cinematic work.

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New Statesman New Statesman — 2025-11-06

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