‘The most handsome man in Italy’ quits modeling to become a priest

A man once voted Italy’s most handsome has quit his modeling job to join the priesthood.

Edoardo Santini, 21, was named Italy’s most beautiful man in 2019, when he was 17, in a pageant organized by ABE, a fashion group.

But after a lifetime of studying drama and dance to achieve his dream of becoming a star, he said on social media on Saturday that he would give up his career because of his faith.

“At 21, I am on my way to becoming a priest, God willing,” said Edoardo, who claimed he had joined a seminary near Florence.

“I have decided to give up modelling, acting and dancing, but I will not give up all my passions, I will just live them differently and dedicate them to God,” said the Castel Fiorentino resident.

Edoardo, 21, was named Italy’s most handsome four years ago and has given up his dreams of fame to train as a priest

Santini said he will not regret the decision “because now I can shout: I am Edoardo, I am 21 years old and I am happy.”

Speaking to his social media followers, the rising star explained: ‘At the age of 21, my father made the decision to marry my mother because she was pregnant, and my mother became a mother at the age of 21.

“I, at the age of 21, find myself on the path to becoming a priest, God willing. In recent years I have had the opportunity to meet people who have shown me what it means to be ‘church’.

‘They gave me the strength to explore this question, which I have carried with me from an early age, but various fears prevented me from studying it at a deeper level. Last year I took the first step,” he said.

Edoardo said going to live with two priests was the “best experience of my life.”

“At the end of the year it was natural for me to ask the bishop to participate in the preparatory course, the year preceding seminary life. And here I am, studying theology and serving two parishes in the Florentine diocese.”

Now, he says, he has “put aside my job as a model and dancer” and preferred a new “world” where he “met wonderful people with a pure heart, to whom I owe a lot, who made me grow’.

“Of course I won’t abandon everything,” he warned. ‘Because they make me who I am, but I will experience them in a different context.

Edoardo said he would continue on his new path despite the opposition.

‘Of course I have people talking behind my back. There are people who have no problem telling me I’m a disappointment, even in my family. But there are also people who support me, believers and non-believers.’

He said that although it “terrified” him to give up his dream and become a priest, he was confident he would not regret the decision “because now I can shout: I am Edoardo, I am 21 years old old and I’m happy’.

In a video which he shared on his Instagram page last week, he shared a video of himself appearing to pray in a church, with the caption: “I got back on my path.”

He also updated his profile bio to ‘I’m a Christian, priest wannabe’.

Edoardo was honored with his title after participating in the 40th edition of the national beauty pageant Il Bello d’Italia in Avellino in 2019.

Actors Giorgio Mastrota and Gabriel Garko are among the famous faces who found early success in the competition.

He said at the time the ’emotion was enormous’, but he also dreamed of becoming an actor.

“Unfortunately, there is never enough time for all the activities I would like to do,” he said in an interview with First Model and Actor.

Edoardo has about 7,000 followers on Instagram, where he rarely posts photos of himself during modeling shoots and on vacation.

On Instagram, Edoardo shared a video saying he was quitting modeling to join the priesthood

“At the age of 21, my father made the decision to marry my mother because she was pregnant and my mother became a mother at the age of 21,” the young actor said.

“I, at the age of 21, find myself on the path to becoming a priest, God willing. Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet people who have shown me what it means to be ‘church’,” he continued.

Edoardo in a holiday photo shared on Instagram, where he said he was a ‘priest wannabe’

“I will not abandon everything, because my passions are part of me, but I will live them and reimagine them in different contexts,” the young star wrote on Instagram

“Last year I took a step,” Edoardo wrote on social media, accompanying a video of him in a church with the caption “I got back on my path.”