Frank Skinner describes how meditation helped him rediscover his faith

Frank Skinner

Comedian and broadcaster Frank Skinner says his association with a Jesuit church in central London has affected his attitude to fatherhood and his appreciation of silent meditation.

Interviewed in the summer edition of Jesuits and Friends, Frank explains how he returned to the Catholic Church in his late-20s, after being disillusioned with it in his teens. He says he believes he has matured as a believer and is now better equipped to discuss his faith with others in the world of light entertainment. "I find that the people in my line of work who talk to me about religion are often very interested, rather than very disparaging," he says. "Atheists and agnostics are often more interested in religion than the religious people."

Fatherhood has had a profound effect upon Frank: his son was born in May 2012 and was baptised at Farm Street Jesuit Church in Mayfair. He says the experience has led him to understand better the love of God as father. "When you've got a child, the love that you feel is like nothing else you feel in the rest of your life. And I think for the believer - certainly the parent - it gives you the clearer view of what a big painful, awful sacrifice that was. When they become your primary concern, ahead of yourself - for me, it's helped me to understand that sort of love of God, that selfless, forgiving love."

Frank Skinner's interest in silent reflection started through yoga, and it extends to the meditative spirituality he finds with the Jesuits. "Through short periods of time, I developed the ability to stop thinking and clear my mind," he explains. "And I suppose afterwards you feel peace. You start to feel very centred and that starts to inform the rest of your life. I feel that God is in that - in everything - and it's like that silence can make you feel it in yourself."

Read the interview with Frank Skinner - alongside features on the first Jesuit Pope (Francis), a preview of World Youth Day in Brazil and expressions of hope for Zimbabwe in the light of forthcoming elections - in the summer edition of Jesuits and Friends, available online at: www.jesuitmissions.org , from Jesuit parishes throughout Britain or by post from Jesuit Missions, 11 Edge Hill, London SW19 4LR.

The magazine Jesuits and Friends is published three times a year by the Jesuits in Britain in association with Jesuit Missions.