Rome (AsiaNews) -  At the center of the controversy surrounding 'The Passion of the Christ' stands a peaceful man with a passion for acting, and for his Catholic faith. Jim Caviezel, 34, portrayed Jesus Christ in the blockbuster film directed by Mel Gibson. He was in the Eternal City with his family last weekend, to seek the blessing of the Holy Father.

Playing such a role was not something Jim took lightly, but, like acting in general, is something he felt a 'vocation' to do. To be in the film, he said, was a "real spiritual experience."  Invited by Father Thomas Williams, of the Catholic religious movement , Legionaries of Christ,  Jim and his family,  attended a Sunday evening English mass at  the Church of San Giovanni Battisti dei Fiorentini, with students of a number of  Pontifical Universities in Rome. Following the liturgy,  the actor remained in prayer while a group of  35 or so fans and fellow Catholics waited outside to meet the star.

He met the students and others, who were impressed with his quiet modesty, and responded to questions on how to integrate Hollywood acting with one's religious convictions. He reiterated that while he has spoken for Catholic conferences in the past, he is first and foremost an actor, not a public speaker, and will continue to rebuild culture in that arena. At one point he spoke very pointedly that this generation of young people is vitally needed to confront the scourge of abortion in the world (especially in the United States) and to stand up for the dignity of life. He commented on the importance of  fighting evil through the power of the rosary.

"Can we take a picture with you?" some of the bolder young adults requested. "Yeah," he said with a rare smile, "but it'll cost you a rosary  each!" he added,  turning his fame into spiritual profit.

It is known that Mr. Caviezel avoids any roles that compromise his moral standards, and he refuses to take the name of God in vain within any script. 

During the filming of 'The Passion of the Christ',  Jim suffered his own  injuries as he portrayed the sufferings of  Our Lord. He endured the pain and numbness of hypothermia through hours of film shooting while he hung on the cross, unprotected from the winter elements. Twice he was directly struck during the scourging at the pillar. His right shoulder was dislocated in the wincing scene where Christ's shoulder was. He was even struck by lightening on the set, but did not suffer any permanent damage. Added to this the social battering he received at the hands of  the liberal media, (Gibson warned that this role might have been the end of Jim's acting career)  and the constant questioning of the motive behind the film, with the  protests of it being anti-Semitic,  Jim accepted it all as his share in the redemptive agony of Christ. In acting the part, Caviezel said to himself: "I don't want people to see me; I just want them to see Jesus." To come to this experience, Caviezel told Zenit, "I began with the rosary, the rosary led me to confession, confession led me to the Mass, every day, and always when I have the Eucharist in my body, I feel more like being in Christ."

Though the debate about the film continues internationally, Mel Gibson's dramatization of Jesus' crucifixion has been a huge box-office success earning an estimated 264 (m) million dollars in the United States and Canada after 19 days in theaters. "If The Passion continues on this trajectory, it's possible for it to surpass Star Wars [461 million dollars] and even Titanic [600.8 million dollars] as the box-office champion of all time," said Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations Inc., which tracks film revenue.

It opens in Italy April 7th.