Martin Scorsese, Priest of the Silver Screen
From a young age, Martin Scorsese dreamed of becoming a priest. To him, a priest's role was greater than that of the President of the United States. The story dates back to 1953 in New York City's Little Italy.
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 nearby. Despite this close-knit family environment, the outside world intimidated him.
The streets of the Lower East Side were filled with tough characters—loan sharks, swindlers, and street toughs who joked, told stories, and sometimes fought violently. Fortunately, Scorsese rarely ventured outdoors due to severe asthma.
“I lived a life apart,” he later recalled. “I felt separate from everyone else.”
From his bedroom window, he observed the lively yet dangerous neighborhood below, imprinting those images on his memory. His parents, devout Catholics from their homeland, wanted him to receive a religious education. They sent him to St Patrick’s Old Cathedral school on Mulberry Street.
“Go around the corner, go to school,” they instructed, and it was there that Scorsese found his true calling.
Author's Summary
Martin Scorsese's early desire to serve as a priest was shaped by his strict Catholic upbringing and the harsh environment of his youth in New York's Little Italy.