Tom Cruise Was Training to Become a Catholic Priest Until He Got Caught Stealing From His School

Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most famous actors. He is known for appearing in movies like Top Gun (1986), Rain Man (1988), A Few Good Men (1992), Vanilla Sky (2001), and War of the World (2005).

Before Cruise made his marks in the entertainment industry, he was actually training to become a Catholic priest. However, Cruise left his training when he was caught stealing from his school.

Tom Cruise studied at a seminary to become a priest

When Cruise was a teenager, he decided to attend a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cruise was drawn to the seminary after seeing a speech by Father Ric Schneider, as reported by the New York Daily News.

“Tom was instantly hooked,” Schneider recalled. “I think he wanted a good education. With his parents going through a divorce, it was tough on him, that’s maybe one of the reasons why he came here.”

Meanwhile, Shane Dempler, Cruise’s close friend from the seminary, revealed why the young men wanted to become priests at the time.

“He had a very strong Catholic faith,” Dempler said. “We went to Mass, spent time in the chapel and enjoyed hearing stories from the priests. We thought the priests had a great lifestyle and we were really interested in priesthood.”

Yet, Dempler acknowledged that, looking back, they “were too young to make that decision.”

Tom Cruise left the seminary after getting caught stealing alcohol

Cruise and Dempler’s time at the seminary came to an end when they were caught stealing alcohol from the fathers. They and other boys got drunk in the woods nearby, and those classmates confessed later when the fathers caught them.

“The school wrote a letter to our parents saying they liked us both, but would prefer if we didn’t return. So we weren’t kicked out, just preferred not to go,” Dempler said.

A few years after Cruise left the seminary, he appeared in the movie Taps, which kick-started his successful Hollywood career.

Tom Cruise is now known for his devotion to Scientology

While Cruise was a devout Catholic when he was younger, these days, he is more known for his affiliation with the Church of Scientology.

Cruise became involved with Scientology in 1990, and has since been one of the most famous advocates for it. He has even campaigned for Scientology to be recognized as a religion in Europe. Cruise has also got some of his family members into the church and, in 2019, moved them into an apartment building dedicated to Scientology.

Although it does not look like Cruise will leave Scientology behind anytime soon, rumor has it that his affiliation the religion put strains on his previous marriages. Cruise’s ex-wives Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes both joined the Church of Scientology, though reports say that these marriages broke down when the women wanted to leave.

According to Us Weekly, Holmes also does not allow Cruise to have a relationship with their daughter Suri because of his religion.

However, it’s important to note that these reports have not been confirmed by a reliable source.