Father’s brother was in “the family!”
One of the priests in Rome for the conclave is the brother of the actor who played famed “Sopranos” mobster Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri, according to a report.
Roman Catholic cardinals cast secret ballots this week to elect a new pope in Rome — and on hand for the festivities is Father Robert Sirico, who fans of the show noticed is a dead ringer for the fictional mafia underboss.
The man of God is the elder brother of the late
Tony Sirico,
who played
Tony Soprano’
s brutal and wise-cracking chief henchmen on the trailblazing New Jersey-based crime drama, the
UK Mirror reported
.
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The odd-couple siblings grew up in an Italian-American Catholic family in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn and remained close despite their dramatically different career paths, the outlet reported.
Fans spotted that the priest had a famous look-alike after he appeared in an interview on
ny1.com
Wednesday discussing how long the conclave voting process may take.
Father Sirico — who is also the co-founder of the conservative think tank The Emeritus of the Acton Institute — gave a heartfelt tribute when his brother died in July 2022 at age 79, saying he “absolved him of his sins” on his deathbed.
“I sensed that the end was coming. So as we sat in a private location, I pulled out a Confessional Stole from my pocket. I looked into his eyes and I said, ‘How about that confession?” Father Sirico said in a death announcement.
“My brother agreed and I did one of the most significant things a priest can do for another human being. I absolved him of all of his sins,” he said.
Prior to hitting the big time, the actor had a tumultuous history involving 28 arrests, which allegedly included charges of robbery, assault, and firearms offenses.
He likewise showed up in the movies “The Godfather: Part II” and “Goodfellas.”
In the course of the conclave sessions, 133 qualifying cardinals are isolated within the Vatican walls to engage in prayer and ballots for selecting the new pope.
A supermajority of two-thirds is needed to choose a new pope.