French comedian Gad Elmaleh reveals his attraction to the Virgin Mary

Everyone in France is familiar with the Jewish Moroccan comedian and actor Gad Elmaleh, known for his astute and benevolent sense of humor. His second film will be released in movie theaters on November 16, 2022. Called "Stay a while", this very personal film is based on the author's own life and spiritual journey. By certain aspects, it looks like a comedy, but it is also a bold and courageous revelation that Gad Elmaleh is on a spiritual search and is attracted to the Virgin Mary.

As the French newspaper La Vie (1) remarks, "for months, even years, we have been watching the comedian from a distance: he has been at Lourdes here, posed for a photo with Cardinal Robert Sarah, visited Paray-le-Monial, took classes at the Collège des Bernardins, went on a trip to Rome for the canonization of Charles de Foucauld, etc. It is obvious that the popular comedian, who was born into the Jewish tradition, is on a quest. To use Catholic jargon, he "is journeying."

In the film, we see him suddenly arrive in France at his parent's house - they actually play their own characters - after three years in the United States. They give him a welcome worthy of the prodigal son! Although he is very happy to see them again, Gad has returned for a completely different reason: to be baptized! He was afraid to talk about this sacrament to his family, who are Sephardic Jews and who would see this as a failure, a blow to their history and a deep disappointment. It is thus with this secret that he returns to Paris.

His secret leads to some delightful misunderstandings, such as the scene in which Gad, who is staying at his parents’, watches a Marian procession in his bed at night... but quickly shuts his computer when he hears his mother enter his room. She then tells him that he is a grown man and that he can do whatever he wants. But she soon discovers the real reason for her son's return when she cleans his room and finds a statue of the Virgin Mary in his suitcase.

But while in the film Gad is preparing for baptism, in real life, this decision remains ambiguous. During an interview, when asked "Are you currently in the process of converting and getting baptized?", he jokingly answered: "No. ... I'm waiting for my parents to leave this world!"

Adapted and translated from: www.aleteia.org

And from: www.lavie.fr