Breaking the hearts of many young women, Italy’s most handsome man has decided to become a priest. The model, Edoardo Santini, was given the title of the ‘Most Handsome Man’ and has decided to devote his life to priesthood and quit modelling. The 21-year-old Edoardo Santini was voted Italy’s most handsome man in 2019 when he was 17. During a pageant organised by ABE Group, in 2019 a fashion group, he got the title of the most handsome man. However, Edoardo is on the spiritual journey of faith and service, leaving his promising career in the spotlight behind.
He has been studying drama and dance for a long time now only to achieve his dream of becoming a model and all the limelight he has now. But, on Saturday he said that would renounce his career for his faith.
“At 21 years of age I find myself on the path towards becoming a priest, God willing,” Edoardo said, claiming to have joined a seminary near Florence.
The Castel Fiorentino native said, “I’ve decided to give up modelling work, acting and dance, but I won’t abandon all my passions, I’ll just live them differently, offering them up to God.”
The model said while addressing his followers on social media, “At 21 years old my father decided to marry my mother because she was pregnant and my mum, at 21, became a mother. Me, at 21 years old, I find myself taking the path to becoming, God willing, a priest. In these past years, I’ve been able to meet people who have shown me what it means to be ‘church.”
“They have given me the strength to investigate this question that I’ve taken with me from childhood but various fears stopped me from studying it at a deeper level. Last year, I took the first step,” he added.
Edoardo said he went to live with two priests and that’s when he decided to follow the same path. He said that it was the best experience of his life.
‘At the end of the year, it was natural for me to ask the bishop to enter the preparatory course, the year that precedes life in the seminary. And here I am, studying theology and serving two parishes in the Florentine diocese.’
Now, the rising star has put aside his job as a model and a dancer, favouring a new ‘world’ where he has ‘met marvellous people with pure hearts, to whom he owes a lot, who allowed him to grow’.
“Of course, I won’t abandon everything because they make me who I am but I will live them in a different context,” he added.
The young model said that he was afraid to abandon his dream and become a priest when he thought about it. But he was sure he would not regret his decision.
In a video shared last week on his social media platform, Instagram the 21 years old shared a clip of him appearing to pray in a church, overlaid with the caption: ‘I got back on my path’.
He also updated his profile bio to ‘I’m a Christian, priest wannabe’.